California utility will pay $80M to settle claims its equipment sparked devastating 2017 wildfire
LOS ANGELES — Southern California Edison will pay $80 million to settle claims on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service related to a massive wildfire that destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures in 2017, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The utility agreed to the settlement Friday without admitting wrongdoing or culpability in connection with the Thomas fire, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Investigation revealed that utility equipment caused the fire at two locations in the canyon on December 4, 2017. The Thomas Fire, which burned across 439 square miles (1,137 square kilometers) in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, is the seventh largest fire in California history, according to state fire officials.
The settlement is a “reasonable resolution,” said Gabriela Ornelas, spokesperson for Southern California Edison.
“We continue to protect our communities from the risk of wildfire with grid hardening, situational awareness and improved operational practices,” Ornelas said Monday.
Federal prosecutors sued the utility in 2020 to recover costs incurred in fighting the fire and for extensive damage caused to public lands in the Los Padres National Forest. The lawsuit alleged that Edison power lines and a transformer fanned dry brush during high winds.
The agreement “provides significant compensation to taxpayers,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph T. McNally said in a statement.
It is Edison’s final settlement over the Thomas Fire. The utility has also settled claims related to the massive Woolsey fire in 2018. Edison estimated in 2021 that total projected losses for both fires would exceed $4.5 billion.
California has seen increasingly destructive wildfires in recent years, exacerbated by climate change and drought. Utility equipment has been blamed for causing some of the worst fires in the state.
In 2022, former executives and directors of Pacific Gas & Electric agreed to pay $117 million to settle a lawsuit over the devastating Northern California wildfires caused by that utility’s equipment in 2017 and 2018.