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6d ago

Justice Department Sues Southern California Edison Over Eaton and Fairview Fires, Seeks $77 Million

Prosecutors frame the filings as a step toward culture change at SCE to keep taxpayers from paying.

Signage is seen at the headquarters of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/ File Photo
Image
The wind whips embers as a firefighter battles the fire in the Angeles National Forest near Mt. Wilson, during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on January 9, 2025.
FILE - A home burns in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Nic Coury, File)

Overview

  • Federal complaints filed in Los Angeles allege SCE negligence ignited the January Eaton Fire and the 2022 Fairview Fire on National Forest System lands.
  • The government seeks more than $40 million tied to Eaton and about $37 million for Fairview to recover U.S. Forest Service suppression and rehabilitation costs.
  • Prosecutors say the Eaton Fire started from faulty SCE transmission infrastructure in Eaton Canyon, burning nearly 8,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest and causing extensive community losses.
  • The Fairview case cites investigative findings that a sagging SCE line contacted a Frontier communications cable near Hemet, igniting a blaze that burned nearly 14,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest.
  • DOJ points to SCE data showing a line “fault” and an SEC filing noting no other apparent ignition source; official cause investigations continue as SCE reviews the suits, highlights mitigation efforts, and readies a voluntary recovery program.