Los Angeles, California | September 5, 2025
The United States Department of Justice has filed two multi-million-dollar lawsuits against Southern California Edison (SCE), alleging that the utility’s negligence caused catastrophic wildfires in Southern California, including this year’s deadly Eaton Fire.
According to federal filings, the lawsuits seek more than $77 million in damages for firefighting, recovery, and environmental restoration costs. Prosecutors accuse the company of repeated failures to maintain its electrical infrastructure, which allegedly sparked both the Eaton Fire of January 2025 and the Fairview Fire of September 2022.
The Eaton Fire, which erupted in the Angeles National Forest and spread into Altadena, killed at least 17 people, destroyed thousands of structures, and burned nearly 8,000 acres of federal land. The earlier Fairview Fire, traced to a sagging Edison line that came into contact with a communications cable, killed two people, destroyed dozens of homes, and scorched nearly 14,000 acres.
“Today’s lawsuits 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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in announcing the lawsuits. He added that the government would seek to prevent the company from passing legal costs onto ratepayers.
SCE acknowledged it had detected a “fault” in its transmission system around the time the Eaton Fire began but has not accepted full responsibility. The company said it is reviewing the lawsuits while ongoing investigations continue.
The cases mark one of the most aggressive federal efforts to hold a California utility accountable for wildfire devastation, as officials seek to impose greater corporate responsibility ahead of the next fire season.