As fires continue to burn in parts of Los Angeles, the first lawsuits and class actions have been filed on behalf of people who were harmed.
City officials have yet to pinpoint what started each fire, but lawyers are already pointing some of the blame for the Palisades Fire on mismanagement by the L.A. Department of Water and Power.
Firefighters said they quickly ran out of water to fight the Palisades fire when hydrants lost pressure within hours, according to the lawsuits.
Lawyers said L.A. water officials drained the Santa Ynez Reservoir in February 2024 to repair an anti-evaporation cover, but never made repairs. The 117-million gallon reservoir was empty when fires broke out last week.
Lawsuits also claim that Southern California Edison, the electrical utility for Los Angeles, failed to turn off power lines that may have sparked the Eaton fire, which decimated the Altadena neighborhood.
Altadena residents took photos and videos of a small fire under a electrical tower in Eaton Canyon. Fierce 100-mph winds caused the flames to race down a steep hillside, giving residents only a few minutes to run for their lives.
Lawyers blamed Southern California Edison for failing to de-energize overhead power lines in Eaton Canyon despite a “Red Flag” warning from the National Weather Service, the highest hazard-level for fires.
All of the lawsuits have been filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by a variety of law firms in Southern California.
In the past, utility companies that have been found liable for California wildfires have been forced to pay high costs. For example, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after multiple wildfires.
In 2019, the state set up the California Wildfire Fund, which was designed to prevent utilities from going bankrupt after future wildfires.
The fund is now worth $21 billion, which could help pay people for insured and uninsured losses if Southern California Edison is found to be responsible for sparking the Eaton fire that destroyed Altadena.
Source: Tragedy of Unspeakable Proportions:’ Could Edison, DWP, Face Lawsuits Over LA Wildfires?