Their Homes Burned In The Eaton Fire. Why Edison Has Kept Information About The Fire Under Wraps

After past year’s disastrous Eaton fire, Southern California Edison executives vowed to beryllium transparent astir what caused nan inferno that killed astatine slightest 19 group and near thousands of families bum successful Altadena.

“As we amended understand precisely what happened connected Jan. 7, we do truthful pinch a committedness to stay transparent,” Pedro Pizarro, main executive of Edison International, nan utility’s genitor company, said successful a published connection aft nan fire.

In court, however, Edison is keeping important documents of nan origin of nan Eaton occurrence secret, a ineligible strategy it has utilized to shield what happened successful astatine slightest 7 earlier wildfires it was blamed for igniting, according to a Times review.

Edison’s stance has caused mounting vexation pinch attorneys representing fire victims who are seeking compensation for their losses.

“The Eaton Fire cases should beryllium decided connected their merits, not connected what accusation that SCE has been capable to withhold,” lawyers for nan victims wrote successful a caller tribunal filing.

State regulators person repeatedly criticized Edison for its secrecy successful erstwhile fires, saying it violated information regulations and stopped officials from learning nan guidelines origin truthful that akin disasters could beryllium prevented.

For much than a year, Edison labor person been gathering elaborate accusation astir what ignited nan occurrence successful an investigation nan institution is required to execute nether authorities inferior regulations.

But astir of that accusation is being withheld by Edison’s declare of attorney-client privilege, arsenic good arsenic a protective bid that it asked a judge to o.k. soon aft nan fire.

Protective orders are commonly utilized successful civilian lawsuits, but astir cases do not person nan wide ramifications to nan nationalist arsenic nan Eaton fire.

Pedro Pizarro, main executive of Edison International, astatine nan Semafor World Economy Summit successful Washington connected April 14.

(Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg)

Because of nan secrecy, it’s not imaginable to cognize conscionable what Edison has found, attorneys for Eaton occurrence victims said successful a filing.

In past fires, regulators person requested from nan institution — and been denied — photographs, notes, matter messages and different records generated by nan Edison unit that was first to get astatine nan tract wherever nan blaze ignited. The institution has based on its lawyer directed nan crew, making nan grounds privileged.

The victims’ lawyers opportunity Edison shouldn’t beryllium capable to withhold from them astir grounds from its investigation into nan blaze by claiming that nan findings and related documents are covered by attorney-client privilege and truthful confidential.

In a caller question and reply pinch The Times, Pizarro disagreed that nan institution was keeping accusation connected nan origin of nan Eaton occurrence secret.

“We judge we’ve been transparent,” Pizarro said. “Facts are not privileged, and truthful we provided facts arsenic we person known them.”

He said nan company’s investigation was continuing. “We still, to this day, don’t afloat understand what happened,” he said.

Pizarro said nan protective bid was needed to support galore things confidential, including immoderate not related to nan fire’s cause. For example, he said, it protects maps of nan electrical system, which can’t beryllium revealed because of coercion concerns.

Signs blaming Southern California Edison for nan Eaton occurrence are seen adjacent cleared tons successful nan Altadena area of Los Angeles County connected Jan. 5.

(Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images)

He pointed to respective institution disclosures, including 2 letters it sent to regulators soon aft nan Eaton occurrence that said it was evaluating whether a century-old transmission line, which hadn’t carried powerfulness since 1971, “could person go energized” and helped lead to nan fire.

Pizarro said past twelvemonth that nan imaginable reenergization of that aged statement is simply a leading theory of nan fire’s cause.

The institution has said small other astir nan fire’s cause, different than it safely maintained and inspected the idle line, conscionable for illustration it did its energized lines.

Edison faces thousands of lawsuits from victims of nan fire, which burned 14,021 acres and leveled a wide swath of Altadena. The lawsuits allege, successful part, that nan institution was negligent for failing to safely support its transmission lines and for leaving nan idle statement successful spot erstwhile it knew it could go energized. Edison denies nan claims of nan lawsuits, which person been consolidated successful L.A. County Superior Court.

Some documents that Edison says are not privileged and agreed to supply to nan victims’ lawyers are sealed by a protective bid that nan institution and nan plaintiffs’ lawyers requested.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys often work together to specified protective orders connected nan mentation that doing truthful would let nan inferior to much freely stock accusation that could thief their case.

Power lines bent from towers carrying powerfulness from nan Southern California Edison Gould Station.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Two months aft nan fire, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Seigle signed nan protective bid — which covers documents that some sides supply successful find — including business accusation deemed proprietary and individual customer data.

According to nan protective order, if nan lawsuit is settled, nan lawyers will determine whether nan sealed documents should beryllium returned to Edison aliases destroyed.

If nan lawsuit proceeds to trial, immoderate of nan grounds could go public.

Yet moreover pinch nan protective bid successful place, plantiffs’ attorneys opportunity Edison has refused to supply them pinch grounds from its investigation into nan fire, saying it’s protected by attorney-client privilege.

The state-required investigations “are not backstage inquiries undertaken for SCE’s use and ineligible protection,” nan plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote successful a filing past year. “Those investigations are regulated activities that beryllium to protect nan nationalist and heighten nationalist information by preventing early fires.”

To statesman those investigations, Edison’s crews often get to nan ignition tract earlier authorities officials. In nan 2019 Saddleridge occurrence successful Sylmar, an interrogator from nan Los Angeles Fire Department found nan yellowish constabulary tape astatine nan roadworthy starring to wherever nan blaze started connected nan crushed and an Edison motortruck leaving nan site, according to his report.

California inferior regulators person said nan earliest observations astatine nan segment are captious successful determining what happened.

L.A. Fire Justice lawyer Mikal Watts presents findings connected nan origin of nan Eaton occurrence astatine transmission building 3 astatine a January 2025 news convention successful Pasadena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Loretta Lynch, erstwhile president of nan California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates nan electrical companies, said she believed Edison was wrongly utilizing attorney-client privilege and protective orders “as a beard to forestall justice.”

Lynch said nan confidentiality could support grounds of Edison’s imaginable negligence from being utilized astatine a early authorities proceeding that will look astatine whether nan institution acted safely and prudently earlier nan Eaton fire.

In that hearing, if nan committee finds nan institution acted prudently, each harm costs will beryllium covered by a authorities wildfire fund and Edison customers. The institution and its shareholders would salary nothing.

“It’s clip to extremity this crippled of allowing utilities to beryllium negligent and past locomotion distant pinch their customers paying for it,” Lynch said.

Kathleen Dunleavy, an Edison spokeswoman, said nan company’s “assertions of privilege successful civilian tribunal person thing to do” pinch nan early authorities proceeding connected whether nan institution acted prudently.

Dunleavy added that nan institution has been cooperating pinch authorities occurrence investigators and nan plaintiff lawyers, responding to their requests for data.

The government’s investigation into nan origin of nan occurrence has not yet been released.

Asked astir nan company’s withholding of documents successful court, Pizarro pointed to a 2024 California Appeals Court determination that recovered that Edison’s assertion of attorney-client privilege to support grounds sealed successful litigation complete nan 2017 Creek occurrence was due nether nan law. The tribunal said that protecting nan documents generated successful nan soul investigation from nationalist disclosure allowed nan company’s attorneys “to analyse not only nan favorable but nan unfavorable aspects” of their client’s situation.

Lawyers for victims of nan Creek fire, which destroyed much than 100 homes and structures adjacent Sylmar, opportunity Edison grounded to supply grounds that showed its statement was a apt origin of nan blaze, starring authorities investigators to initially wrongly blame electrical instrumentality owned by nan L.A. Department of Water and Power. Edison continues to contradict it caused nan fire.

A occurrence motortruck makes its measurement past a information of nan Creek occurrence on Wheatland Avenue successful Sylmar connected Dec. 5, 2017.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In nan Eaton occurrence case, a fewer specifications of what’s successful nan confidential documents person been revealed successful court, showing they could beryllium important erstwhile nan first proceedings originates adjacent year.

In February, plaintiff lawyers revenge 13 sealed exhibits for only nan judge to review, saying they showed really Edison had neglected inspections, attraction and repair of nan idle line. The records are taxable to nan protective order, shielding them from nationalist view.

“There is ample grounds successful this lawsuit that SCE performed much predominant and higher value inspections and attraction connected its unrecorded instrumentality than it did connected its inactive facilities,” they wrote.

“From each indications, SCE near Tower 208 virtually unattended for decades,” they added, referring to nan pylon that held nan idle statement and was found to beryllium nan location of nan fire’s first flames.

The plaintiff lawyers besides said nan protective bid prevents them from disclosing photos to nan nationalist that show Edison near vegetation increasing nether nan idle statement while removing it from beneath nan unrecorded wires moving parallel to it, according to nan tribunal filing. Utility regulations require vegetation to beryllium removed from nether and astir electrical lines to trim nan consequence of fire.

The lawyers added that nan sealed documents showed that Edison was having problems pinch an extracurricular contractor it had hired to inspect its transmission lines.

Asked astir nan filing, Pizarro said nan claims were assertions by nan plaintiff attorneys that would beryllium debated successful court.

Some ineligible experts person criticized nan usage of protective orders for keeping nan nationalist successful nan acheronian astir vulnerable firm actions aliases products.

Lynch said protective orders and confidential settlements successful wildfire litigation are preventing nan nationalist from learning accusation that could extremity early deadly fires. She said California should see authorities to prohibition nan usage of nan secrecy strategies successful wildfire lawsuits.

Firefighters activity to incorporate nan Saddleridge occurrence connected Oct. 10, 2019, successful nan Sylmar vicinity of Los Angeles.

(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

The Times recovered protective orders successful lawsuits against Edison for nan 2017 Thomas occurrence and mudslides, which killed 23; nan 2018 Woolsey fire, which killed three; nan 2019 Saddleridge fire, which killed one; and nan 2022 Fairview fire, which killed two. Those fires together caused billions of dollars successful damages and destroyed thousands of homes.

Lawyers for nan Eaton occurrence victims told nan judge successful February that nan protective order, arsenic good arsenic akin secrecy orders successful lawsuits complete different fires, had kept them from speaking publically astir definite subjects successful nan courtroom, including what they knew astir Edison’s statement inspections.

“This is simply a important case, against 1 of nan world’s largest providers of electricity, which has, done nan usage of Confidentiality Protective Orders successful different cases, impaired nan Plaintiffs’ expertise to afloat pass nan Court,” they wrote.

Late past month, Judge Seigle ordered Edison to springiness nan victims’ lawyers much of nan documents they had requested. The protective bid limits nan public’s entree to them.