DOJ Sues Edison for Negligence in Eaton and Fairview Fires

The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday filed two lawsuits against Southern California Edison, accusing the utility of negligence that sparked the deadly Eaton Fire in January and the Fairview Fire in September 2022 and seeking tens of millions of dollars to cover firefighting and federal land rehabilitation costs. The complaints name the utility as a defendant in suits seeking roughly 40 million related to the Eaton Fire and about 37 million for the Fairview Fire, according to federal filings and statements by U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.

The Eaton Fire ignited on Jan. 7 amid an intense Santa Ana wind event and quickly spread from the Eaton Canyon area into the San Gabriel Valley, charring more than 14,000 acres, damaging large swaths of Angeles National Forest land and obliterating thousands of buildings in communities such as Altadena and Pasadena. Reports on fatalities and property losses varied, with federal filings and state agencies citing between 17 and 19 deaths and damage to more than 9,400 structures, while other local tallies put the number of structures affected above 10,000. The federal suit alleges the blaze burned nearly 8,000 acres of national forest,...