Lawsuit filed against Southern California Edison over Los Angeles fires
U.S. power utility Southern California Edison has been sued over allegations that one of the ongoing fires in and around Los Angeles was ignited by the company's electrical equipment.
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The lawsuit was filed in the California Superior Court on behalf of homeowners, tenants, and business owners whose properties were damaged by the Eaton fire in the Pasadena area.
The complaint submitted to the court states that many witnesses saw a fire start beneath a transmission tower belonging to Southern California Edison, and that videos of this incident were shared on social media.
Reports in the U.S. press indicated that this lawsuit against the company could be the first of many filed in connection with the fires affecting Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Pedro Pizarro, CEO of the company's parent organization, Edison International, emphasized in an interview with CNBC that no abnormalities were detected in their equipment in the hours leading up to the start of the Eaton fire in the Los Angeles area.
24 PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES
More than 37 thousand acres of land have been reduced to ashes so far in the fires that began on the evening of January 7 in various parts of Los Angeles and spread rapidly due to strong winds.
24 people have lost their lives in the fires, and evacuation orders have been issued for approximately 150 thousand people.
More than 12 thousand structures have been damaged or rendered unusable in the disaster.