By Dave Mason
The Center Square

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing electric utility company Southern California Edison for tens of millions of dollars over the devastating Eaton and Fairview fires, which torched national forests.

“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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement Thursday. “We hope that today’s filings are the first step in causing the beginnings of a culture change at Southern California Edison, one that will make it a responsible, conscientious company that helps – not harms – our community.

“Hardworking Californians should not pick up the tab for Edison’s negligence,” Essayli said.

The Department of Justice is suing Southern California Edison for more than $40 million over the Eaton Fire. In a separate lawsuit, the DOJ is suing the company for $37 million over the Fairview Fire.

The DOJ is the latest government entity to sue Southern California Edison over the Eaton Fire. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits blame the company’s equipment for igniting the blaze, which started Jan. 7 and burned 14,021 acres in the Pasadena/Altadena area.

The Eaton Fire destroyed 9,418 structures and resulted in 17 deaths, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.

Of the burned land, almost 8,000 acres were in the Angeles National Forest, according to the DOJ. Destruction included Forest Service roads, trails, campgrounds and other facilities.

“Miles of recreational trails visited by hundreds of thousands of people per year were closed because of the fire, which also impacted water quality in the burn area and beyond,” the DOJ said.

The department said the lawsuit covers fire suppression costs, rehabilitation of burned areas and other environmental damages.

Southern California Edison said it operates transmission towers in the Eaton Canyon area. The DOJ said that’s where the fire appears to have started.

The department’s lawsuit noted Southern California Edison admitted it detected a fault on one of its transmission lines around the time the fire began. The department added that the company conceded it was unaware of evidence showing another possible source of ignition.

Others suing Southern California Edison vary from the Pasadena Unified School District, in which several schools were damaged, to Los Angeles County, which oversees the unincorporated community of Altadena, and the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre.

In July, Southern California Edison, based in Rosemead, announced it will begin its Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program for individuals affected by the Eaton Fire. The company said it will send payments to people who qualify.

“Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly,” said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, Southern California Edison’s parent company.

In a separate lawsuit, the Department of Justice is contending Southern California Edison failed to properly maintain its power and transmission lines in or around the area where the Fairview Fire ignited on Sept. 5, 2022 in San Bernardino County. The DOJ said sparks were ignited when the company’s sagging power line came into contact with a Frontier communications messenger cable.

The Fairview Fire burned nearly 14,000 acres within the San Bernardino National Forest and destroyed an outlook used for fire detection in remote areas, according to the DOJ.

The fire burned 44 structures, killed two people and injured another three individuals, two of whom were firefighters, the DOJ said.

In other fire-related news, TCU September Lightning Complex, which consists of 22 lightning-caused fires of various sizes in Calaveras, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties, burned 13,966 acres and destroyed 85 structures as of Friday morning. One firefighter was injured.

Cal Fire said the blaze, which started Tuesday, is 22% contained.