(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice is suing Southern California Edison over the Eaton Fire, seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages for alleged negligence it claims led to the deadly fire.
The January fire, one of the most destructive in California history, killed 19 people and burned over 14,000 acres in the Los Angeles area, including nearly 8,000 acres of land in the Angeles National Forest, officials said.
A cause remains under investigation, according to Cal Fire. However, the DOJ alleges that the fire was ignited “from faulty power infrastructure owned, maintained, and operated” by Southern California Edison.
The Justice Department is also suing the utility company for damages caused by the 2022 Fairview Fire in Riverside County, which killed two people and burned over 28,000 acres, including nearly 14,000 acres within the San Bernardino National Forest, officials said.
State fire officials determined the fire started after a SoCal Edison power line came into contact with a Frontier communications messenger cable, creating an arc and causing sparks to fall and ignite the vegetation below.
“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,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “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.”
The DOJ said it is seeking over $40 million in damages due to the Eaton Fire for costs incurred by the U.S. Forest Service, including fire suppression and rehabilitation. It is seeking to recover some $37 million for similar damages from the Fairview Fire, it said.
A SoCal Edison spokesperson said the company is reviewing the lawsuits “and will respond through the appropriate channels.”
“The Eaton Fire was heartbreaking for so many of us who live and work in the Los Angeles area,” the spokesperson, Jeff Monford, said in a statement, adding that “our thoughts are with the community affected by the Fairview Fire.”
“We continue our work to reduce the likelihood of our equipment starting a wildfire,” Monford said. “SCE is committed to wildfire mitigation through grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices.”
The DOJ’s litigation follows lawsuits previously filed by Los Angeles County and the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre against Southern California Edison over damages due to the Eaton Fire.
Like its predecessors, the DOJ’s lawsuit alleges the fire started under the transmission lines in Eaton Canyon, where SoCal Edison operates transmission towers in the area, and that the company informed the California Public Utilities Commission it detected a “fault” on its transmission line around the time the fire started.
Homeowners and renters who lost their houses in the Eaton Fire have also sued SoCal Edison.
In a Feb. 6 update to California Public Utilities Commission on its analysis into the origin of the Eaton Fire, the utility company said in a press release that “information and data have come to light, such as videos from external parties of the fire’s early stages, suggesting a possible link to SCE’s equipment, which the company takes seriously.”
“While we do not yet know what caused the Eaton wildfire, SCE is exploring every possibility in its investigation, including the possibility that SCE’s equipment was involved,” Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Southern California Edison’s parent company, Edison International, said in a statement at the time. “We have been fully engaged since the start of the fires in supporting the broader emergency response, containment, recovery and investigation efforts.”
In July, the company announced it will be launching a voluntary program in the fall to “quickly compensate” people and businesses impacted by the Eaton Fire.
“Community members shouldn’t have to wait for the final conclusions in the Eaton Fire investigation to get the financial support they need to begin rebuilding,” Pizarro said in a statement. “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. This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
