In one suit, multiple witnesses are cited as having seen a fire at the base of a transmission tower owned by the utility.Southern California Edison, a unit of utility Edison International, has been hit with multiple lawsuits claiming its electrical equipment started one of the major wildfires raging in the Los Angeles area, according to court filings.
The suits, filed on Monday, appear to be the first of hundreds or even thousands that will arise from the wildfires that have engulfed parts of Southern California in the United States in the past week.
The lawsuits were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of homeowners, renters, business owners and others with properties destroyed by the Eaton fire in the Pasadena area.
At least 24 people have died since the fires began last Tuesday, and more than 90,000 residents have been forced to flee their homes. More than two dozen people are reported missing, authorities have said.
The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of Los Angeles has scorched roughly 5,712 hectares (14,117 acres), or 57 sq km (22 sq miles) – nearly the size of Manhattan. That fire is the second most destructive inferno in California history, according to one complaint. Advertisement
In one of the suits, multiple witnesses are cited as having observed a fire at the base of a transmission tower owned by …
