Federal prosecutors on Thursday sued Southern California Edison over its alleged role in the deadly Eaton fire, a blaze that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes and other structures.
In a civil complaint, prosecutors allege that the Eaton fire ignited “from faulty power infrastructure or by sparks from faulty power infrastructure owned, maintained, and operated” by Edison.
The results of the official investigation by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have not yet been announced. The government’s lawsuit notes that the investigation into the fire remains ongoing.
It’s one of two lawsuits the government filed Thursday seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from Edison, alleging the company’s negligence caused the deadly Eaton and Fairview fires. The Fairview fire blazed near Hemet in 2022.
The fires burned tens of thousands of acres of National Forest System lands, killed 21 people and destroyed thousands of buildings, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
Edison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The lawsuits filed today allege a troubling pattern of negligence resulting in death, destruction, and tens of millions of federal taxpayer dollars spent to clean up one utility company’s mistakes,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “We hope that today’s filings are the first step in causing the beginnings of a culture change at Southern California Edison, one that will make it a responsible, conscientious company that helps — not harms — our community.”
The government is seeking more than $40 million in damages tied to the Eaton fire. For the Fairview fire, the government is seeking to recover approximately $37 million in damages incurred by the Forest Service, including approximately $20 million in fire-suppression costs, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A.
