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Background: Destruction caused by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California (KTTV/YouTube). Inset: Video captured by Altadena residents Jeffrey and
Cheryll Ku showing a fire underneath transmission towers in Eaton Canyon (Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian law firm).
Homeowners have started filing lawsuits against the Southern California Edison utility company, claiming it’s responsible for one of the blazes that tore through the Los Angeles area last week — the deadly Eaton Fire — citing alleged witness accounts and videos from social media that show flames breaking out underneath transmission towers.
“Based upon our investigation, our discussions with various consultants, the public statements of SCE, and the video evidence of the fire’s origin, we believe that the Eaton Fire was ignited because of SCE’s failure to de-energize its overhead wires, which traverse Eaton Canyon,” said Richard Bridgford, attorney with the Newport Beach law firm Bridgford, Gleason and Artinian, in a statement Monday after filing a lawsuit on behalf of Altadena homeowner Jeremy Gursey in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Bridgford says SCE’s failure to de-energize its transmission wires happened “despite a red flag PDS wind warning issued by the national weather service the day before the ignition of the fire.” Gursey’s suit alleges that SCE was “aware or should have been aware” that its electrical transmission system (ETS) and the electrical distribution system (EDS) traversing Eaton Canyon was in a “dangerous condition” and ultimately posed a “significant risk of electrical failure, fire and property damage to surrounding property and communities” in the area.
“At all relevant times the transmission circuit in Eaton Canyon, as well as related hardware fixtures, devices, structures, components, property, easements, and rights of way were part of an electrical transmission system owned, designed, constructed, installed, inspected, maintained and/or controlled by Defendants,” Gursey’s complaint reads. “At all relevant times, Defendant SCE’s EDS (including but not limited to the distribution circuit traversing Eaton Canyon and its component parts) was in a dangerous condition.”
Gursey’s lawsuit is one of at least four that have been filed against the Southern California Edison power company in wake of the deadly California wildfires. Others include plaintiffs who also owned and lived in Altadena homes that have been destroyed, and one resident who rented out their property.
“They were on notice of the significant wind events that were coming in that week,” attorney Ali Moghaddas, with the firm Edelson PC — which represents a FedEx employee — told the Los Angeles Times on Monday in reference to SCE officials. “They chose not to use all the tools at their disposal.”
While official causes for the California fires have yet to be formally determined, homeowners and their lawyers have moved forward with lawsuits against SCE anyway. Gursey’s complaint specifically cites video from residents who say they recorded the moment the Eaton Fire started.
“At approximately 6:15 p.m. on January 7 … Altadena residents Jennifer Errico and Marcus Errico observed the ignition of the Eaton Fire underneath an electrical tower across the canyon from their home on the 2500 block of Canyon View Drive in Pasadena,” Gursey’s complaint says. “Before evacuating, Jennifer and Marcus took photographs of the fire underneath what they described as ‘giant, giant towers’ across from where Midwick Drive intersects with North Altadena Drive.”
Screenshots of video footage captured by a different area family alleges to show the same event.
“At approximately 6:19 p.m. … Altadena residents Jeffrey and Cheryll Ku recorded video of the fire underneath the same transmission towers in Eaton Canyon from their street North Harding Ave in Altadena,” the complaint says.
Left: Video captured by Altadena residents Jeffrey and Cheryll Ku shows the fire underneath the Eaton Canyon transmission towers (Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian law firm). Center: Footage recorded by Altadena residents Jennifer Errico and Marcus Errico allegedly shows the ignition of the Eaton Fire underneath an electrical tower across the canyon from their home on the 2500 block of Canyon View Drive in Pasadena (Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian). Right: Another screenshot from video provided by Jeffrey and Cheryll Ku (Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian).
Gerald Singleton, an attorney with the law firm Singleton Schreiber — who is suing SCE on behalf of a homeowner who was renting out their property — told the LA Times that one of the reasons he and others are already filing lawsuits, despite the Eaton Fire being just 35% contained as of Tuesday, is because they want to preserve as much evidence as possible.
This includes videos and images like the ones captured by the two couples.
“Everything we’ve seen points to Edison’s power lines being the cause of the fire,” Singleton concluded.
A spokesman for SCE, Jeff Monford, told the Times on Monday that the utility giant is aware of the lawsuits but hadn’t been served yet, saying: “SCE will review the complaint when it’s received. The cause of the fire continues to be under investigation. Our hearts remain with our communities during the devastating fires in Southern California and we remain committed to supporting them through this difficult time.”
SCE did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment.
At least 17 people have died in the Eaton Fire and another eight have perished in the Palisades Fire, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
