Utility to pay $360M for wildfires in Calif.
LOS ANGELES – Southern California Edison agreed to pay $360 million to local governments to settle lawsuits over deadly wildfires sparked by its equipment during the last two years, including one blamed for a mudslide that killed more than 20 people, the utility and attorneys announced Wednesday.
The sum will reimburse counties, cities and other public agencies for firefighting costs and repairing damage from two of the region’s worst blazes.
The figure will not fully repay taxpayer costs, but it will help pay the bills to rebuild roads, other infrastructure and clean up debris, among other things, said attorney John Fiske, who represents local governments.
“While this is not 100%, it’s not pennies on the dollar,” Fiske said. “A lot of these communities … were hit very hard. In the aftermath of these wildfires, all sorts of public resources and taxpayer resources are lost.”
The group of nearly two dozen public entities that includes small fire, water and park agencies had sued Southern
California Edison for negligence and improper operation of power lines and equipment, failure to clear vegetation around electric lines and for not shutting down circuits when high winds created fire danger.
Socal Edison said it admitted no wrongdoing or liability in the settlement. Utilities have increasingly come under fire for causing devastating wildland blazes in recent years.
Tinder-dry vegetation has blown into power lines, sparking fires fanned by high winds across a landscape desiccated from drought and climate change.
The fire that broke out in dry brush in Ventura County was sparked when the utility’s power lines slapped together in high winds on Dec. 4, 2017, investigators said. Two people were killed and 440 square miles burned.
The burn zone included a mountainside above the seaside city of Montecito, where a deluge a month later in firescarred terrain triggered a devastating mudslide that killed at least 21 people. Two others were never found.
The settlement does not include private lawsuits for deaths and homes destroyed.