WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice announced on Sept. 4 that it has sued a California utility company for nearly $80 million, alleging that it contributed to two forest fires in the state.

The department filed two lawsuits, one for each fire, alleging that Southern California Edison’s negligence led to the Fairview Fire in 2022 and the Eaton Fire this past January.

“The lawsuits filed today allege a troubling pattern of negligence resulting in death, destruction, and tens of millions of federal taxpayer dollars spent to clean up one utility company’s mistakes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement.

“We hope that today’s filings are the first step in causing the beginnings of a culture change at Southern California Edison, one that will make it a responsible, conscientious company that helps— not harms—our community,“ he continued. ”Hard-working Californians should not pick up the tab for Edison’s negligence.”

A spokesperson for Southern California Edison, David Eisenhauer, told The Epoch Times that the company is reviewing the lawsuits and will respond through appropriate legal channels. 

“We continue our work to reduce the likelihood of our equipment starting a wildfire,” he said, adding that the company “is committed to wildfire mitigation through grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices.”

The lawsuit over the Eaton Fire—which killed 18 people and started in Los Angeles County’s Angeles National Forest—alleges that the blaze was due to “faulty power infrastructure owned, maintained, and operated” by Southern California Edison. The fire, which Eisenhauer called “heartbreaking,” burned more than 10,000 structures and almost 8,000 acres of forest.

The U.S. government seeks more than $40 million in environmental and other damages.

The lawsuit over the the Fairview Fire blames “a sagging power line owned, maintained and operated” by Southern California Edison for being the catalyst. The power line, it said, “came into contact with a Frontier communications messenger cable, creating sparks that ignited vegetation below the lines” in the Riverside County city of Hemet, about 85 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Southern California Edison, said the Justice Department, “failed to properly maintain its power and transmission lines in or around the area” where the fire began and “failed to ensure the minimum clearance between its power lines and the Frontier Communications messenger cable in the area where the fire ignited.”

The fire, which burned almost 14,000 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest, killed two people, injured three, and burned 44 structures.

The U.S. government seeks more than $37 million in damages including about $20 million in fire suppression costs.

“Our thoughts are with the community impacted by the Fairview fire,” Eisenhauer said.

This is not the first time the Justice Department has sued Southern California Edison. It filed a lawsuit in September 2023 alleging the company contributed to the 2020 Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest.

Southern California Edison paid $82.5 million in a settlement.