The legal offensive comes as SoCal Edison faces 998 separate lawsuits from fire victims, insurers and government entities — including a suit by the U.S. Department of Justice over damage to National Forest land — putting the utility at the center of litigation arising from a fire that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures in January 2025.
ALTADENA, Calif. — Southern California Edison filed cross-complaints in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, accusing Los Angeles County, seven water agencies and the Southern California Gas Company of a series of failures the utility says made last year’s Eaton Fire more deadly. The filings shift blame to other parties even as investigators continue to examine evidence suggesting that one of Edison’s own idled power lines may have sparked the blaze.
The cross-complaints, reported by KABC-TV, name Los Angeles County, Pasadena Water and Power and five other water agencies as defendants. A separate filing targets SoCalGas.
The Eaton Fire ignited on Jan. 7, 2025, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures across 22 square miles of the Altadena area. Firefighters took nearly a month to extinguish the blaze.
Evacuation warnings and water pressure
SoCal Edison’s filings against the county allege that local agencies failed to send timely evacuation warnings to residents in east and west Altadena. According to the utility’s filings, 18 of the 19 people who died in the fire lived in west Altadena.
Los Angeles County declined to comment on the court filings.
The utility also claims that Pasadena Water and Power and the other named water agencies did not supply sufficient water as the fire spread, leaving firefighters with limited resources to combat the blaze.
Pasadena officials rejected those claims. City representatives said Pasadena believes it was SoCal Edison’s own equipment that caused the fire.
Gas shutoff timeline disputed
In its separate complaint against SoCalGas, SoCal Edison alleges the gas utility did not begin widespread shutoffs until four days after the fire started. The utility says gas leaks and gas-fed fires contributed to the spread of the blaze.
SoCalGas said it is reviewing the complaint and will respond through the judicial process.
Edison’s own legal exposure
SoCal Edison’s cross-complaints come as the utility faces significant legal exposure of its own. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but evidence suggests one of the utility’s idled power lines might have sparked it.
The utility is currently named in 998 lawsuits filed by fire victims, insurers and government entities. The U.S. Department of Justice has also sued the company separately over damage to National Forest land.