Los Angeles County officially sued utility company Southern California Edison on Wednesday, claiming that its power lines caused the spark that ignited the Eaton Fire in high winds on January 7.
The Los Angeles Times reported:
The lawsuit is the latest to allege that Edison’s equipment caused the blaze, which destroyed about 9,000 homes and killed 17 people, making it one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Residents have filed more than 40 lawsuits against the utility, focusing on transmission towers where the first flames were spotted. The cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre also plan to sue Edison, according to a county news release.
“All evidence is pointing to them,” said Scott Kuhn, an attorney for the county who spearheaded the suit.
The lawsuit marks the third time the county has sued Edison since 2018. The county won a $63-million settlement from Edison over the origin of the Woolsey fire in 2018 and $80 million over the cause of the Bobcat fire in 2020.
The Eaton Fire burned over 14,000 acres and destroyed over 9,400 structures. It devastated the communities of Altadena and northern Pasadena, particularly a historic black community that had built up generational wealth in their Altadena homes.
Similar actions have been brought against Pacific Gas & Electric in Northern California over other wildfires.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes Pasadena and Altadena, told Breitbart News that the lawsuit would bring “accountability” and would help local authorities rebuild the infrastructure that was destroyed. She added that the county is pushing the utility company to put its electric power cables underground.
No cause has yet been determined in the Palisades Fire further west, though lawsuits are being filed against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) for leaving a local reservoir empty before the fire season.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
