Los Angeles County announced Wednesday that it was suing utility Southern California Edison and its parent company to recover costs and damages sustained from January’s deadly Eaton Fire, which killed 17 people and destroyed thousands of structures.
“The lawsuit alleges that SCE’s equipment caused the deadly blaze, requiring the County to incur massive costs responding to the fire and its aftermath,” the county said in a release detailing the move.
The county said the complaint alleges that witnesses, photos, and videos “indicate the fire started directly under SCE transmission lines in Eaton Canyon.”
“After the fire started, SCE informed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that a ‘fault’ occurred on its transmission line around the time the fire started. On February 6, SCE sent a letter to the CPUC stating that photographic evidence of its tower at the end of the idle Mesa-Sylmar transmission line shows signs of potential arcing and damage on the grounding equipment for two of the three idle conductors,” it continued.
In response to the suits, Southern California Edison expressed sympathy for the communities that were affected by the Santa Ana wind-driven fires.
“We are reviewing the lawsuits that were recently filed and will address them through the appropriate legal process,” a spokesperson for the company told The Independent.
Southern California Edison wrote in February that its investigation was ongoing and that the cause of the fire’s ignition had not been determined.
“Information and data have come to light, such as videos from external parties of the fire’s early stages, suggesting a possible link to SCE’s equipment, which the company takes seriously. SCE has not identified typical or obvious indications that would support this association, such as broken conductors, fresh arc marks in the preliminary origin area, or evidence of faults on the energized lines running through that area,” it said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“These investigations take time,” the company’s spokesperson said Wednesday. “They require very specific expertise. So, we are reviewing all available information to determine potential causes for an ignition, including whether our equipment could be related to the cause of the fire.”
The Eaton Fire started on the evening of January 7, ballooning to more than 14,000 acres before it was fully contained. It resulted in 17 deaths and destroyed more than 9,000 structures.
The county’s complaint alleges that estimated costs and damages from the blaze will total “at least hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“We are committed to seeking justice for the Altadena community and the taxpayers of Los Angeles County,” County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison, who filed the case, said.
The cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre are also filing suits against the company for damages incurred from the fire.
“The destruction of public facilities essential to Pasadena’s operations requires significant investment to restore and rebuild,” Lisa Derderian, Pasadena’s public information officer, said in a statement. “While our restoration efforts continue, we have a responsibility to pursue appropriate compensation for the costs of rebuilding the public infrastructure our community relies upon.”
