Overview
- Southern California Edison filed cross-complaints in Los Angeles Superior Court naming L.A. County agencies, emergency-alert vendor Genasys and six local water providers, alleging delayed evacuations in west Altadena, insufficient water, overgrown brush and poor resource allocation worsened the disaster.
- A separate complaint targets SoCalGas, asserting the utility waited four days to begin widespread gas shutoffs, leading to gas leaks, reignitions and explosions that hindered firefighting and evacuations; SoCalGas said it will review and respond through the courts.
- The Eaton fire, which began Jan. 7, 2025, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 structures across roughly 14,000 acres, and investigations continue as Edison acknowledges circumstantial evidence that an idled transmission line may have ignited the blaze during extreme winds.
- Edison remains the defendant in about 998 lawsuits from residents, insurers and government entities, and the U.S. Department of Justice has also sued over damage to federal lands; L.A. County declined comment and Pasadena officials said they believe Edison's equipment caused the fire.
- Edison’s voluntary Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program has received nearly 2,000 claims and extended 95 settlement offers totaling $42.8 million, with more than half accepted, according to the company.