A judge on Tuesday ordered Southern California Edison to preserve data, equipment and evidence related to the deadly Eaton fire, a decision praised by attorneys who sued the giant utility company and suspect the fire was started at the base of an electrical tower.
Issued by L.A. Superior Court Judge Ashfaq G. Chowdhury Tuesday morning, the ruling approved a temporary restraining order requested by attorneys for an Altadena woman whose home was burned in the fire and is now suing the utility company.
In their request, attorneys asked the court to intervene and order Edison to preserve evidence out of concern the company would destroy evidence linked to the fire.
The ruling is significant because investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have focused their investigation on a hillside in Eaton Canyon and the base of an Edison electrical tower, where residents captured video footage of the first flames of the destructive fire burning at the beginning of the blaze on Jan. 7.
In the motion, attorneys with the firm Edelson PC argued that Edison could destroy equipment and possible evidence unless attorneys were able to immediately identify “each piece of evidence that had to be preserved.”
A spokesperson for the utility company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a court filing, attorneys for Southern California Edison opposed the temporary restraining order, arguing that the company has been complying with requests to preserve evidence. They said Edison has been preserving equipment from a 1-square-mile area in eastern Altadena and near the suspected ignition point in Eaton Canyon, documenting and taking videos and pictures of repairs and replacement of equipment in the area.
Edison has documented repair and replacement work outside of that “preservation zone” but argued in court filings there is no need to do so since the county and investigators looking into the cause of the fire have not expressed a need to do so.
“The County did not express interest in any of SCE’s distribution facilities anywhere in Altadena,” one court filing reads. “SCE is going above and beyond its preservation obligations. SCE is not altering or removing its equipment within the County’s Preliminary Origin Area.”
The judge’s ruling orders Edison to consult with attorneys who are suing the company to determine the exact boundaries of the area from which evidence should be preserved.
In their request for a judge to intervene, attorneys suing Edison argued that utility companies have in the past destroyed equipment and evidence in cases where electric equipment was suspected of causing destructive fires.
“Utility companies have a troubling history of exploiting the chaos during and after major fires to destroy or tamper with critical evidence,” Ali Moghaddas, an attorney with Edelson PC, said in an email. “Today’s court order sends a clear message: That won’t happen here.”
The Eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed 9,416 structures and killed at least 17 people.
The company was not allowed access to the suspected origin site of the fire until Jan. 16, according to court filings, but was accompanied on that date by attorneys who have sued the company, as well as investigators hired by those firms.
Last week, residents and homeowners began filing lawsuits against Southern California Edison, alleging that evidence suggested the fire was started by its electrical equipment.
At least 20 lawsuits have been filed against Edison in connection to the Eaton fire, according to court filings.
Fire officials have not released an official cause for the blaze, and officials at Edison have stated their data shows no anomalies near the suspected start of the fire.
According to the judge’s order, Edison also is required to turn over data about the electrical towers to attorneys.
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