US files lawsuit against California utility over Los Angeles wildfires

"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 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."

Federal prosecutors have filed two lawsuits accusing Southern California Edison of negligent maintenance that helped spark major wildfires near Los Angeles and the San Bernardino National Forest. One complaint alleges failure to properly maintain power and transmission infrastructure contributed to the deadly Eaton Fire in January. The second claims similar negligence led to the Fairview Fire in September 2022. The lawsuits allege a pattern of negligence causing deaths, widespread destruction and tens of millions of federal dollars to clean up damages, according to US Attorney Bill Essayli. The Eaton Fire killed at least 19 people, injured nine firefighters, and SCE reported detecting a transmission-line fault while investigations continue.

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