US sues Southern California Edison over Eaton, Fairview fires

The U.S. sued Southern California Edison for negligence in causing the Eaton and Fairview fires, seeking over $77 million in damages for fatalities, destruction, and federal firefighting and environmental recovery costs.

Both lawsuits are being handled by attorneys from the U.S. Attorney's Office's Complex and Defensive Litigation Section.
The United States government is seeking $37 million from SoCal Edison for damages that the United States incurred, including about $20 million in fire suppression costs for the Fairview fire.

"I want to be very clear about this. It is our intention that Southern California Edison, the company itself, and not the rate payers, will bear the burden of these costs," Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at a Los Angeles news conference Thursday. "Innocent, hardworking Californians who pay their electricity bills should not have to pay for Edison's negligence by incurring higher utility rates."

Essayli added, "While no lawsuit can bring back loved ones lost or destroyed homes, we hope that today's complaints will be a first step in ensuring that Edison changes the way it does business, that it becomes a responsible party, instead of a party that causes harm, destruction and misery and devastates our region."

Scores of individual plaintiffs have filed civil lawsuits against Edison regarding the Eaton Fire, which started on Jan. 7 in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, killing 18 people and destroying 10,000 buildings, including homes in Altadena and Pasadena. Those cases are in the process of being consolidated in the Superior Court.

The Department of Justice Investigators say the fire was sparked by faulty power equipment owned and operated by Southern California Edison (SCE). The utility has not confirmed this. It has admitted it detected a problem on one of its power lines around the time the fire started.

The fire burned nearly 8,000 acres of forest land, damaging roads, trails, campgrounds, and other public areas, the Department of Justice said in a news release. Popular hiking trails had to be closed, and the fire even affected water quality in the area.

The federal government says SCE didn't do enough to properly maintain its power lines and equipment. The U.S. Forest Service spent millions of dollars fighting the fire and repairing the damage, the DOJ said. Now, the government is suing SCE for over $40 million to cover those costs and environmental losses.

The Fairview Fire began on Sept. 5, 2022, near Hemet. According to the lawsuit, one of SCE's sagging power lines touched a cable owned by Frontier Communications. That contact caused sparks, which set off the wildfire, the lawsuit says.

The fire spread fast, burning nearly 14,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest. It damaged Forest Service roads and led to dangerous conditions like falling rocks and potential mudslides, according to the lawsuit. It also destroyed the Red Mountain Lookout, a key spot used to watch for wildfires.

The fire was devastating to the environment, especially to animals and plants that are already considered threatened or endangered, the DOJ lawsuit said. It also destroyed 44 buildings, killed two people, and injured three others -- including two firefighters.

The government says SCE didn't keep a safe distance between its power lines and the Frontier cable, which could've prevented the fire. It's asking for around $37 million to cover firefighting costs and the damage to public lands.

Both lawsuits are being handled by attorneys from the U.S. Attorney's Office's Complex and Defensive Litigation Section.

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