Southern California Edison sued Los Angeles County, water agencies and two companies including SoCalGas on Friday, claiming their mistakes contributed to the deadly and destructive toll of last year’s Eaton wildfire.
Edison now faces hundreds of lawsuits filed by fire victims, who claim its transmission line started the devastating blaze that killed at least 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena. The cost of settling these lawsuits could run into the billions of dollars.
Doug Dixon, a lawyer who represents Edison in the fire litigation, told the Times that Edison filed the lawsuit “to ensure that everyone who bears responsibility is at the table in this legal process.”
The utility’s two legal filings in Los Angeles County Superior Court paint a picture of gross mismanagement of the emergency response the night of the fire.
Edison blames the county fire department, sheriff’s department and emergency management office for their failure to warn Altadena residents west of Lake Avenue to evacuate.
The times revealed last January that west Altadena never received evacuation warnings and that evacuation orders came hours after flames and smoke threatened the community. All but one of the 19 deaths in the Eaton Fire were found in west Altadena.
Edison also sued Los Angeles County for failing to send fire trucks to the community. A Time Survey discovered that at a critical point in the fire, only one county fire truck was west of Lake Avenue.
The power company also filed suit against six water agencies, including Pasadena Water & Power, claiming the water supply was insufficient for firefighters.
“To compound the disaster, water systems serving areas affected by the Eaton Fire failed as the fire spread, leaving firefighters and residents without water to fight the fire,” the lawsuit states.
Another lawsuit targets SoCalGas. Edison says the company failed to shut off the gas lines after the fire started, making the disaster worse.
“SoCalGas did not begin implementing widespread shutdowns for four days – until January 11, 2025 – in the area affected by the Eaton Fire,” the complaint states. “Meanwhile, the Eaton Fire continued to spread, fueled by natural gas.”
“The risks and deficiencies in SoCalGas’s system that led to the spread of the fire were long known to SoCalGas, and yet it failed to adequately consider them in the design, construction, and maintenance of its system,” the complaint states. “The result was catastrophic.”
Edison also sued Genasys, a company that provides the county with emergency alert software.
Additionally, the utility sued the county for failing to remove brush, which it said made the fire hotter and spread faster, causing more damage.
A Los Angeles County spokesperson said Friday that the county had no comment on the lawsuit.
Chris Gilbride, a spokesman for SoCalGas, said the company will review the complaint and respond in court.
“Since January 7, 2025, SoCalGas has worked diligently, in close coordination with local and state officials, to assess the impacts of the fires on SoCalGas infrastructure, make necessary repairs, and safely restore service to thousands of customers,” Gilbride said.
Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena, said court evidence showed Edison’s equipment started the fire.
“Today’s cross-complaint does not change that fact and Edison should accept responsibility for the considerable damage it has caused,” she said. “Pasadena continues to prioritize safe rebuilding and recovery. »
Officials from the water agencies and Genasys could not immediately be contacted.
In March, Los Angeles County filed suit against Edison, claiming its transmission line started the fire, forcing the county to incur tens of millions of dollars to respond to the fire and its aftermath. The county is seeking compensation for destroyed infrastructure and parks, as well as cleanup and recovery efforts, lost taxes and county employee overtime.
Edison’s new cross-claims will be heard in the consolidated Eaton Fire case in Superior Court, which also handles the lawsuit the county and other public agencies filed against the electric utility.
The water agencies Edison is suing also include the City of Sierra Madre Water Department, Kinneloa Irrigation District, Rubio Canyon Land & Water Assn., Las Flores Water Company and Lincoln Avenue Water Company.
The government investigation into the fire, conducted jointly by the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has not yet been released.
Edison said that a dominant theory is that its idle century-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon was re-energized on the night of January 7, 2025 and started the fire.
The fire ravaged Altadena, burning 14,021 acres and destroying more than 9,400 homes and other structures.
Source | domain www.latimes.com
