The utility filed cross-complaints Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court naming Los Angeles County, Pasadena Water & Power, five other water agencies, and Southern California Gas, alleging their failures contributed to the deaths of 19 people and the destruction of more than 9,400 structures in the Eaton Fire. Edison itself faces 998 lawsuits from victims and government entities claiming its equipment started the blaze.
Edison has acknowledged that circumstantial evidence suggests one of its idled high-voltage transmission lines may have ignited the fire amid winds that topped 100 mph on the night of January 7, 2025. The official cause remains under investigation by Cal Fire and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The City of Pasadena rejected Edison’s claims.
“The City recently received and is reviewing the cross complaint Southern California Edison Company and Edison International filed this afternoon,” Pasadena’s chief communications officer Lisa Derderian said Friday.
“Evidence from the lawsuit has shown Edison’s equipment to be the cause of the catastrophic Eaton Fire that began on January 7, 2025 and devastated our community. Today’s cross complaint does not change that fact and Edison should accept responsibility for the extensive damage it has caused. Pasadena continues to prioritize safe rebuilding and recovery.”
Pasadena finds itself in an unusual position: The city filed its own lawsuit against Edison in March 2025, seeking compensation for damaged municipal infrastructure. Now Pasadena Water & Power has been named as a defendant in Edison’s cross-complaint.
Doug Dixon, an attorney representing Edison in the fire litigation, told the Los Angeles Times that Edison filed the lawsuits “to ensure that all those who bear responsibility are at the table in this legal process.”
Edison’s complaints paint a picture of failures across multiple agencies on the night of the fire. The utility alleges Los Angeles County’s Office of Emergency Management, Sheriff’s Department, and Fire Department failed to issue timely evacuation warnings. Residents in east Altadena received their first alert about 30 minutes after the fire began at 6:18 p.m.
Residents in West Altadena—the primarily Black neighborhood where all but one of the 19 victims lived—were not warned to evacuate until 3:25 a.m. the following morning, according to Edison’s filings.
Edison also alleges water agencies, including Pasadena Water & Power, failed to provide adequate water supplies for firefighting.
“Compounding the unfolding disaster, the water systems servicing the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire failed as the fire spread, leaving firefighters and residents with no water to fight the fire,” Edison’s lawsuit states, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A separate complaint targets SoCalGas, alleging the gas utility did not begin widespread shutoffs until January 11, 2025—four days after the fire started. Edison claims gas leaks and gas-fed fires contributed to the spread of the blaze.
Chris Gilbride, a spokesperson for SoCalGas, said the utility “will carefully review the complaint and will respond through the judicial process,” according to the Orange County Register.
He added that SoCalGas has “worked diligently, in close coordination with local and state officials, to assess the impacts of the fires on SoCalGas’ infrastructure, make necessary repairs, and safely restore service to thousands of customers.”
Los Angeles County officials declined to comment on the litigation.
The cross-litigation is partly aimed at protecting a $21 billion California Wildfire Compensation Fund, created by state legislators in 2019 to prevent major utilities from going bankrupt if found liable for causing fires, according to the Daily News. Dixon said Edison’s lawsuits seek to ensure all responsible parties share in any potential damages.
Edison has launched a voluntary compensation program for fire victims who agree not to sue. Nearly 2,000 families have filed claims, and Edison has extended 95 settlement offers totaling $42.8 million. More than half have been accepted, according to Reuters.
The Eaton Fire burned 14,021 acres before being fully contained on January 31, 2025. It is the fifth-deadliest and second-most destructive wildfire in California history.
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