The U.S. government has filed lawsuits demanding that Southern California Edison pay for the costs of battling two devastating wildfires that allegedly originated from its electrical infrastructure. One of those fires, the Eaton Fire, broke out in January in Los Angeles County, resulting in the deaths of 19 people and the destruction of thousands of buildings.
On Thursday, federal attorneys submitted legal complaints in Los Angeles federal court to recover expenses related to both the Eaton Fire and the Fairview Fire, which occurred in September 2022 east of Los Angeles and killed two people. The government claims that both fires were caused by Southern California Edison’s negligence in managing its power lines and equipment.
As wildfires in the western U.S. have grown in intensity—exacerbated by climate change and extreme weather—utilities have faced rising liabilities. In 2018, wildfire damages forced PG&E Corp. into bankruptcy after the catastrophic Camp Fire. California has since established wildfire compensation funds to support victims, but those funds are now under pressure following the destructive January wildfires in Los Angeles.
Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International, is already facing numerous lawsuits related to the Eaton Fire. Many of the claims assert that the utility’s infrastructure sparked the blaze that devastated the Altadena neighborhood. Although the cause of the fire is still officially under investigation, these lawsuits point to the company’s equipment as a likely source.
The Fairview Fire, which started in September 2022, burned approximately 28,000 acres, according to data from CalFire.
Southern California Edison has not yet responded to the federal lawsuits.
In its legal filing, the U.S. government alleges that the Eaton Fire was started by faulty or malfunctioning power equipment owned and managed by the utility. Federal officials claim that the company was aware of the fire risks associated with high winds and electrical lines but failed to adequately respond. The government cited a press release issued by Edison the day before the fire, in which it mentioned preparations for “extreme winds and potential outages.”
According to the suit, Southern California Edison operates three transmission lines in the Eaton Canyon area, where the fire is believed to have started. The company reportedly acknowledged that it had identified a “fault” in one of the lines around the time the fire broke out.
The federal government is asking the court to order the utility to reimburse the cost of firefighting and land rehabilitation. For the Eaton Fire, this includes restoring over 8,000 acres of National Forest land, at an estimated cost of more than $40 million. The government is also seeking compensation for fighting the Fairview Fire and restoring approximately 14,000 acres of damaged land.
At the same time as the Eaton Fire, another wildfire—fueled by the same intense winds—erupted in Pacific Palisades, burning over 20,000 acres.
The lawsuits are listed as U.S. v. Southern California Edison, case numbers 25-cv-8356 and 25-cv-8357, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
