The United States Department of Justice has filed two lawsuits against the utility company Southern California Edison, alleging that its negligence helped spark a major fire near Los Angeles.
One of the complaints, submitted on Thursday, argues that the energy company failed to properly maintain its power and transmission infrastructure, contributing to the outbreak of the deadly Eaton Fire in January.
The second lawsuit alleges that similar negligence led to the Fairview Fire near the San Bernardino National Forest in September 2022.
“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,” US Attorney Bill Essayli said at a news conference.
Energy utilities in the western state of California have faced frequent allegations that poor maintenance efforts in fire-prone areas have sparked deadly blazes.
The administration of President Donald Trump, a Republican, has also frequently criticised fire prevention policies in the state, which is a Democratic stronghold.
The Eaton Fire was one of several blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and covered southern California with layers of smoke in January, when Trump took office for a second term.
The fire killed at least 19 people and resulted in the injury of nine firefighters, according to the state firefighting agency CAL FIRE.
Southern California Edison operated three transmission towers near the site of the fire. In a report, the utility company said it detected a “fault” on one of its transmission lines around the time that the Eaton Fire started.
But an investigation into the origins of the fire is still ongoing, and the company said it had “not conclusively determined” its equipment was to blame.
Still, federal prosecutors argued there was enough material to proceed with a lawsuit. They are seeking $40m in damages for federal, state and local governments.
“There’s no reason to wait,” Essayli said. “We believe that the evidence is clear that Edison is at fault, and by their own admissions, no one else is at fault.”
The second lawsuit, about the Fairview Fire, alleges that a swinging power cable made contact with a messenger cable and sparked flames that went on to burn through the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County.
Edison spokesperson Jeff Monford has said that the utility is looking at the lawsuits.
“We continue our work to reduce the likelihood of our equipment starting a wildfire,” Monford said. “Southern California Edison is committed to wildfire mitigation through grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices.”
While numerous factors contribute to the spread and destructiveness of a wildfire, errors by utility companies have been the cause of deadly fires in California, prompting some to call for state authorities to take greater control over utilities.
In June 2020, the energy utility PG&E pleaded guilty to dozens of manslaughter charges related to the 2018 Camp Fire, which was started due to faulty equipment that the company had failed to maintain in defiance of state regulations. The 2018 fire was the deadliest in state history, with 85 people killed.
A grand jury report at the time stated that the company had ignored warning signs and had shown “a callous disregard” for human life.
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