LA resident sues California utility company for allegedly causing deadly Eaton Fire

A Southern California resident on Monday sued the Los Angeles electrical utility company Southern California Edison for allegedly starting one of the major wildfires that have burned in the area over the past week.

A series of wildfires began raging through Los Angeles last week and have resulted in the destruction of more than 10,000 structures. At least 24 people have also died in the fires, including the Pasadena-Altadena fire, dubbed the "Eaton Fire." 

Altadena resident Jeremy Gursey filed the lawsuit in the LA County Superior Court, and argued that the electric company was behind the fire. The accusation comes after two other Altadena residents took photographs of a small fire on January 7 that appeared to be underneath transmission lines running through Eaton Canyon, which Gursey cited as evidence, CNN reported.

The company has denied the allegations that it could be responsible for the fire, and claimed on Sunday that an internal review of circuits and transmission lines in the Eaton Canyon area supported its argument that it was not responsible.

“That analysis shows no interruptions or operational/electrical anomalies in the 12 hours prior to the fire’s reported start time until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire,” the company said.

Local officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Richard Bridgford, who represents Gursey, admitted to CNN that there is no definitive proof connecting SCE to the fire, but said he believes evidence to support their argument is growing.

“They stated that the distribution lines to the east of Eaton Canyon would be energized,” Bridgford said. “We happen to know the ignition point is directly below their line. We believe based upon the video evidence and based upon extensive discussion with our experts they will be found to have started the fire.”

The Eaton Fire, which has burned through 14,117 acres so far, is just 33% contained at the time of publishing.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.