Multiple lawsuits have been filed on behalf of victims of the Eaton Fire alleging that equipment owned by Southern California Edison started the deadly blaze.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Homeowners and victims of the Eaton Fire are among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, alleging that SCE-owned properties were the source of the blaze, which burned more than 14,000 acres and killed 11 people in the Pasadena and Altadena areas. lives were lost.
One of the lawsuits accuses SCE of negligence for failing to properly inspect and secure equipment before hurricane-force winds passed through the area last week.
Richard Bridgford, an attorney representing the homeowners who are among the plaintiffs, said his firm’s own investigation showed that the fire was caused by “a failure to turn off power to overhead lines across Eaton Canyon despite a red light.” “We have come to believe that the fire occurred due to SCE’s negligence.” Flag your PDS wind warning. ”
A separate lawsuit makes similar claims on behalf of multiple homeowners in the Pasadena and Altadena areas who lost their homes or were forced to evacuate.
“This goes beyond a failure to comply with liability, especially with the well-documented risk of weather warnings and high winds,” said Patrick McNicholas, law partner at McNicholas & McNicholas, who represents the homeowners. “This is gross negligence in an area where the risk of wildfires is extremely high.” In a different suit.
McNicholas said the company has met with more than 500 victims in the past week, most of whom have lost their homes completely.
A screenshot of a video purportedly taken shortly after the Eaton Fire broke out in Altadena on January 7, 2025, shows a flare-up at the base of a power line. (@jeffrey.ku and @cheryllyay on Instagram)
The first flames of the Eaton Fire were discovered beneath a power company-owned transmission tower in Eaton Canyon.
According to the Los Angeles Times, CalFire is investigating the tower as a possible cause of the fire.
SCE said it does not believe its equipment caused the fire and said in an incident report last week that there were no “electrical or operational abnormalities” at the scene until more than an hour after the fire began raging. ‘ was not reported.
The power company said no fire department has so far suggested that its equipment was the cause of the fire.
‘Particularly dangerous’ weather conditions arrive in Southern California on Tuesday and Wednesday
Wildfires in California have been caused by downed or damaged electrical equipment in the past, but experts interviewed by the Los Angeles Times said the Eaton fire is the latest example of fires starting in public facilities. He said it was too early to tell.
Nevertheless, both of the lawsuits filed Monday accuse Edison of knowing about the dangers of electrical equipment igniting vegetation, and McNicholas’ lawsuit alleges that the utility company intentionally “protected public safety.” He accused the company of choosing “profit over profit.”
Southern California Edison spokesman Jeff Monford told the Times that the company was aware of the lawsuit but had not yet received it.
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