Federal prosecutors on Thursday sued Southern California Edison’s role in the deadly Eaton fire that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes and other buildings.
Prosecutors claimed in a civil complaint that the Eaton Fire “has come from a broken power infrastructure or is subject to a spark from a broken power infrastructure, owned, maintained and operated by Edison.”
The official findings of the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Forestry and Fire Department have not been announced. The government’s lawsuit states that the investigation into the fire is still underway.
It is one of two lawsuits filed by the government on Thursday, demanding tens of millions of dollars in damages from Edison, accusing the company of negligence that caused the deadly Eaton and Fairview fires. Fairview fires are in 2022 near Hemet.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, the fire burned tens of thousands of acres of land in the National Forest System, killed 21 people and destroyed thousands of buildings.
Edison did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The lawsuit filed today alleges disturbing negligence that led to death, destruction and the mistakes of tens of millions of federal taxpayers’ money to clean up a utility company,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “We hope today’s application is the first step in the beginning of the cultural change in Southern California, which will make it a responsible, serious company that helps our community, not harms our community.”
The government is seeking more than $40 million in losses associated with the Eaton fire. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles
