Edison of Southern California has agreed to pay $82.5 million to cover costs and damages from the 2020 Bobcat Fire, which is calling a record-breaking settlement of one of Los Angeles County’s biggest flames.
Federal officials allege that a bobcat fire that burned more than 114,000 acres in 2020 was lit when trees and their tree maintenance contractors contacted the power lines that were not properly maintained by Edison in Southern California.
Edison agreed to pay the settlement within 60 days of the effective date of the agreement. This was May 14th without admitting fraud or negligence.
“Our minds lie with people affected by Bobcatfire,” said Edison spokesman Jeff Monford. “We are pleased to have resolved this issue and will continue to advance wildfire mitigation measures to further increase public safety and resilience.”
The US Lawyer’s office in Los Angeles was called the “largest wildfire cost recovery settlement of history” by the government in the Central District of California.
“This record-breaking settlement against Edison in Southern California provides meaningful compensation to taxpayers for the widespread costs of fighting the bobcat fire and widespread damage to public land,” said the US Atty. Bill Essayri said in a news release. “My office will continue to actively pursue restraint costs and environmental damages from any entities that harm public forests and other valuable national resources.”
The settlement comes as Edison is trying to raise customer rates by 10% to pay for the wildfire mitigation “to cover the reasonable costs of its operations, facilities.” [and] “Infrastructure”, according to the demands of the utility giant, it will come just a few months after the fire destroyed Pallisad and Altadena in the Pacific.
The California Public Utilities Commission is expected to make a decision this summer. If approved, rate hikes mean that monthly electricity bills for Edison’s 15 million customers will increase by $18.
The federal government filed a lawsuit in September 2023 on behalf of the Forest Service against Edison and the Utility Tree Services seeking damages to bobcats and more than $121 million in damages to the public to eliminate bobcat fires and damage to property and natural resources.
The fire, which began on September 6, 2020, destroyed 87 homes, 83 other structures and 178 vehicles. 28 more homes were also damaged, with at least six firefighters injured while fighting the fire.
Federal officials also said it had long-standing closures of more than 100 miles of trails and numerous campsites, “having detrimental effects on habitat and wildlife, including yellow-footed frogs in the mountains, federally threatened fish and birds, and irreplaceable cultural and heritage resources.
“These settlements are essential to restoring our landscape after a wildfire,” Forester Jason Kuiken of the Southwest Pacific Pacific, said in a news release.
Angeles National Forest Deputy, Tony Martinez, assistant forest supervisor for the country’s Angeles National Forest, said the resource “helps rehabilitation in burned areas, restore wildlife habitats and strengthens forest resilience to future wildfires.”
Edison’s safety record fell last year, with its equipment surged to 178, 39% above the five-year average.
In April, the chief executive of the parent company of Southern California, Edison, said it was likely that he would suffer “material losses” related to the fatal Eaton fire that caught fire on January 7th and burned more than 14,000 acres around Altadena.
Investigations into the cause of the fire continue and have not concluded that Edison’s equipment caused the flames, Edison International CEO Pedro Pizzaro said in his first quarter revenue call in April.
Edison previously admitted that it could be the cause of the flames, and said this month it could be due to dormant power lines.
Eaton Fire killed 18 people and destroyed thousands of homes and other structures. Early estimates showed the cost of losses to $10 billion, but experts said the number would increase.
Times staff writer Caroline Petroukohen contributed to this report.
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