Los Angeles County, city of Pasadena sue SoCal Edison seeking Eaton Fire-related damages
Los Angeles County and the city of Pasadena filed separate lawsuits against Southern California Edison on Wednesday over the Eaton Fire, alleging the utility's electrical equipment caused the deadly wildfire.
The Eaton Fire killed 17 people as it devastated the community of Altadena, an unincorporated area of LA County in the San Gabriel Valley, burning through more than 14,000 acres and damaging and destroying thousands of structures after breaking out on Jan. 7. It is now considered the fifth most deadly wildfire ever recorded in California history and the second-most destructive, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
Cal Fire has reported the cause of the Eaton Fire was still under investigation as of Tuesday.
When the wildfire sparked, much of Southern California — including the area of LA County where the Eaton Fire started — was under Red Flag warnings for weather conditions that were bringing the risk of "extreme" and possibly life-threatening wildfires.
Powerful Santa Ana winds had been forecasted days prior, with gusts expected to reach up to 100 mph in some parts of the region as the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned of a potentially "life-threatening and destructive windstorm."
On the opposite side of Los Angeles County, in the coastal community of Pacific Palisades, a wildfire had started hours before the Eaton Fire. Thousands were already facing mandatory evacuations in the Palisades Fire, and homes had already been burned to the ground, when the Eaton Fire started about 34 miles away in a northeast area of LA County.
Both lawsuits allege that, despite warnings of such potentially dangerous conditions, the Eaton Fire ignited on Jan. 7 during the high wind event — sparking below a transmission tower carrying high-voltage power lines and "electrical equipment designed, owned, managed, and maintained" by SoCal Edison. Both suits say those allegations are supported by evidence from photos, video footage and witness statements.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for SoCal Edison responded to both suits through a brief statement to CBS News Los Angeles.
"Our hearts are with the communities affected by the wildfires in Southern California. We are reviewing the lawsuits that were recently filed and will address them through the appropriate legal process," the statement reads.
The 58-page filing from LA County features satellite images depicting the widespread damage left by the wildfire, particularly to the community of Altadena just north of Pasadena and about 14 miles from downtown LA. All 17 people who died in the Eaton Fire were in a western area of Altadena, where county officials have admitted there were delayed alerts telling residents to evacuate.
Several congressional representatives in Southern California and LA County officials have called for an investigation into the alerts.
The lawsuit from LA County alleges that SoCal Edison's electrical equipment came into contact with highly flammable vegetation, and the utility had allegedly "negligently failed to maintain vegetation within prescribed California regulations and law" as the state has regulations on how this terrain must be cleared when within a certain distance of power lines and electrical equipment.
On its website, SoCal Edison lists the public regulations on such maintenance.
"Regulations (CPUC GO 95, Rule 35, and CA PRC 4292 and 4293) require utilities to trim trees or vegetation so they don't grow into or fall into high-voltage power lines, which could not only cause a power outage but could spark a fire or be a danger to the public," SoCal Edison states on its "Vegetation Management" page.
Climate experts and geologists have said Southern California's terrain, particularly when dried out during the warmer summer months, increases the risk of sparking and fueling wildfires when faced with extremely low humidity. And the risk of these blazes spreading, and becoming even more difficult to put out, rises with the high winds seen during the fall, and sometimes, winter.
The litigation from LA County goes on to allege the utility also failed to issue public safety power shutoffs, when it had a duty to do so since such extreme weather conditions were making it unsafe to keep this electrical equipment energized.
LA County's lawsuit also lists the Los Angeles County Flood Control District and Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County as plaintiffs. Meanwhile, the lawsuit filed by the city of Pasadena against SoCal Edison only lists the city as a plaintiff.
That lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges the utility's electrical equipment caused the devastating blaze and led to widespread damage to infrastructure in the city of Pasadena.
"The destruction of public facilities essential to Pasadena's operations requires significant investment to restore and rebuild," Lisa Derderian, spokesperson for the city of Pasadena, 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."
Tens of thousands of people fled their homes when the Eaton and Palisades fires swept through thousands of acres in early January, carried by powerful Santa Ana winds over days.
Neighborhoods of homes, churches, temples, beloved landmarks and businesses were burned to the ground as they both became among the most destructive recorded in California history. Together, the two blazes left 29 people dead.
