The cash-strapped Pasadena Unified School District is suing Southern California Edison, seeking compensation for the loss of multiple buildings that burned in the Eaton fire and the ensuing disruption of its operations.
The district — which was grappling with a $37-million budget deficit prior to the Jan. 7 blaze — sued the Rosemead-based utility and its parent company, Edison International, last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accusing them of negligence and other causes of action that led to the fire.
While the cause of the fire remains open, investigators have focused on Edison power lines in Eaton Canyon that may have sparked the inferno that killed 17 people and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and other structures in Altadena.
“The destruction of multiple schools and educational facilities has created an immense burden on students, families, and the entire educational community,” John Fiske, an attorney representing the district, said in a statement. “This lawsuit seeks fair compensation to recover the taxpayer resources and district property lost as a result of this devastating fire.”
Southern California Edison is already facing scores of lawsuits seeking damages due to the Eaton fire, and insurance companies are expected to seek compensation for billions of dollars of claims they are likely to pay out to homeowners and businesses.
“The Eaton fire has been heartbreaking for the Altadena community. We are reviewing this lawsuit and will respond through the legal process,” said Diane Castro, a spokesperson for the utility.
The March 19 lawsuit details extensive damages suffered by multiple facilities, including Franklin Elementary School, Eliot Arts Magnet Middle School, the Edison campus housing Odyssey Charter School, the Loma Alta campus housing Pasadena Rosebud Academy and Oak Knoll Montessori School and the Noyes campus housing Aveson School of Leaders.
It also seeks compensation for debris, soot and ash removal; environmental testing; staff and labor costs; fire-related crisis response and mental health services to district students; among other costs the district has borne since the fire.
The damage to its campuses follow years of declining enrollment that prompted the district’s board — looking to slash $12 million from its budget — to approve cuts last month that will result in the loss of about 150 jobs, including 120 certificated positions mostly held by teachers.
The district was home to about 21,000 students in 2005 but now has less than 14,000, which has led to the closure of five campuses since 2018. The decline is attributed to a lack of affordable housing in the wealthy community and the availability of multiple charter and private school options.
The lawsuit alleges the utility failed to temporarily shut down power lines in Eaton Canyon despite ample warnings of a strong windstorm from the National Weather Service amid abundant dry vegetation near its power lines. It includes photographic evidence to support its allegation the fire started beneath power lines “arcing in the high winds.”
The lawsuit says the utility later filed a report with the California Public Utilities Commission that showed there was an increase in current through four power lines in the canyon about the time the fire started.
A Times investigation has found Edison knew that some of its towers at and near the likely ignition point were fire hazards. While evidence is still being collected, records the company filed with the state show towers on three lines considered a potential “ignition risk” were overdue for maintenance.
The utility had 94 open work orders along the three lines, portions of which run past the northern edge of Altadena and through Eaton Canyon, as of Dec. 31, according to Edison data reviewed by The Times. They included two work orders for “weed abatement” and “structure brushing” that were flagged “ignition risk.”
“The cause remains under investigation as part of our ongoing commitment to a thorough and transparent investigation,” Edison said last week. “Southern California Edison is beginning the next phase of inspections and testing of electrical equipment in Eaton Canyon.”
In January, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to allow the utility to raise electric rates to cover payments it made to victims of the devastating 2017 Thomas wildfire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties that later was blamed for debris flows that killed 23. Investigators said Edison’s equipment was at fault.
The vote will allow Edison to charge its customers for more than $1.6 billion of the $2.7 billion that the utility paid to more than 5,000 fire victims. Edison said it planned to spread the cost over 30 years with most customers experiencing a $1 increase on their monthly bills, the company said.
The company also has asked the commission to approve a second rate increase for $5.4 billion in payments to victims of the 2018 Woolsey fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties that destroyed more than 1,600 structures and killed three people. An investigation determined Edison equipment sparked the blaze.
Some estimates put the insured damage from the Eaton fire at $10 billion, but experts say the final tally could be higher and losses other than those covered by insurance will further raise the total.
The impact on rate payers, though, could be diminished, even if Edison is found to be at fault. The Legislature in 2019 passed a law that created a $21-billion fund to help pay for wildfire damages caused by utility equipment.
The fund was established after Pacific Gas & Electric filed for bankruptcy following a series of wildfires in 2017 and 2018, including the Camp fire that destroyed the Sierra Foothills community of Paradise and killed more than 80 people.
In order to qualify for the money, a utility must have acted prudently to prevent a fire. Even if that is found to be so, the company would still have to pay the first $1 billion in claims before being able to access the state fund.
Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, told Wall Street analysts in January that if it is found the utility’s transmission equipment was “associated with the ignition of the Eaton fire” he was confident the utility could prove “its conduct with respect to its transmission facilities in the Eaton Canyon area was consistent with actions of a reasonable utility.”
