Citing “massive costs responding to the fire and its aftermath,” Los Angeles County, Pasadena and Sierra Madre Wednesday, March 5, filed lawsuits against Southern California Edison alleging the utility’s equipment sparked the Eaton fire, which destroyed more than 9,000 structures.
Each lawsuit seeks damages for the costs incurred due to the fire which include damage to government buildings as well as the response to the fire.
The lawsuit blames SCE’s equipment for triggering the deadly blaze that cut a mammoth swath of damage through the unincorporated community of Altadena as well as the two cities.
The fire destroyed “County parks, a nature center, multiple trails and other essential community infrastructure,” according to the county’s suit.
“Our focus remains on the full restoration of services to Pasadena residents and businesses,” Pasadena spokesperson Lisa Derderian said in a statement. “By working collaboratively with neighboring jurisdictions, we can more effectively address the devastating impacts this fire has had on our communities while ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.”
According to a county news release, witnesses, photos and videos indicate that the fire started directly under SCE transmission lines in Eaton Canyon.
SCE informed the California Public Utilities Commission that a fault occurred on its transmission line around the time the fire started, according to the county.
The county estimated the damages from the fire to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
More than two dozen lawsuits claim that Edison’s equipment was to blame for the start of the Eaton fire — which killed 17 people and damaged or destroyed more than 10,000 structures.
The utility said evidence and videos, including one from an ARCO gas station that appears to show arcing a minute or two before flames are seen below, suggest a possible link to SCE’s equipment, “which the company takes seriously.”
“While we do not yet know what caused the Eaton wildfire, SCE is exploring every possibility in its investigation, including the possibility that the utility’s equipment was involved,” Pizarro said. “We have been fully engaged since the start of the fires in supporting the broader emergency response, containment, recovery and investigation efforts.”
This is a breaking-news report. Watch for updates.
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