Utility Line Fires

Holding powerful utility companies in Southern California accountable for utility line fires and power line failures that ignite devastating wildfires

Security camera footage from a Pasadena gas station — taken just minutes before January 2025’s deadly Eaton Fire erupted out of control, tearing through the canyon, hills, and surrounding community — shows arcing and sparks flying from an old, idle electrical transmission line tower. Numerous photos and videos taken by residents depict a ring of flames at the base of the tower in Eaton Canyon in those fateful moments.

In the days and weeks following the tragic blaze, the electrical tower, owned by Southern California Edison (SCE), became the primary focus of the investigation into the fire’s origin. The leading theory posits that a transmission line, dormant for five decades, was re-energized through a process called induction, igniting a catastrophic utility line fire. Hurricane-force Santa Ana winds rapidly fanned the flames through dense, drought-stricken vegetation. The inferno leveled a historic neighborhood in a matter of hours, destroying or damaging more than 10,000 structures and killing 19 people.

The recovery process for victims of any wildfire, especially those caused by utility company wildfire liability, is a long and arduous one. But California’s escalating insurance crisis — skyrocketing premiums, inability to obtain new policies, insurers abruptly dropping clients or pulling out of the state altogether — has made it much more difficult. Close to three-quarters of Eaton Fire victims were uninsured or underinsured.

If you suffered loss or injury due to the Eaton Fire, reach out to the seasoned wildfire attorneys at Aitken * Aitken * Cohn. For over four decades, we’ve been helping disaster victims pursue justice and gain the compensation they need to rebuild their lives after devastating power line fire lawsuits.

Was Southern California Edison responsible for the Eaton Fire?

Southern California Edison (SCE) faces dozens of mass tort lawsuits contending that the utility company’s negligence caused or contributed to the devastating electrical transmission line fire in Altadena.

Decaying electrical infrastructure; a high-risk area; several days’ warning of a climate event that would create extreme wildfire danger — conditions were ripe for a major utility line fire, yet SCE failed to properly maintain and harden its equipment or take necessary safety measures to mitigate the heightened risk, increasing their utility company wildfire liability.

A tragic history: many California wildfires caused by preventable electrical utility failures

Unfortunately, the Eaton Fire was not the first time Californians have endured a catastrophic wildfire due to utility line fires — far from it.

As the New York Times reported in January 2025, “Since 1992, more than 3,600 wildfires in California have been related to power generation, transmission and distribution, according to data from the U.S. Forest Service. Some of the most destructive fires have been traced back to problems with utility poles and power lines.”

In fact, besides the Eaton Fire, at least four of the 20 most destructive wildfires in California were ignited by electrical transmission line fires. Camp, Woolsey, Thomas, Dixie — all names hauntingly familiar to Golden State residents; all disastrous fires started by power line accidents, leading to significant power line fire lawsuits.

The 2018 Camp fire, which consumed close to 19,000 structures and killed 84 people in Northern California’s Butte County, began when a worn hook, holding up a highly energized Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) powerline, gave way; the live line came loose and arced against a steel tower raining molten steel and aluminum down into parched vegetation during high winds — igniting the most destructive and deadly utility line fire in California history.

That same day, 470 miles to the south, the Woolsey Fire began in Simi Valley, sweeping through Oak Park and a large area of the Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu. That fire, at the time the most destructive in LA and Ventura County history, was ignited by malfunctioning SCE equipment that showered sparks into dry brush during high winds, prompting numerous power line fire lawsuits.

The previous year, the Thomas Fire began at two separate ignition points a few miles apart in Ventura County. Both ignitions were related to SCE utility equipment, including cables that collided in strong winds, causing a “line slap” that dropped burning material into dry grass and chaparral. Amidst powerful Santa Ana winds, the two fires rapidly merged into one massive blaze, increasing utility company wildfire liability.

In 2021, the Dixie Fire erupted when a tree fell and came into contact with several PG&E distribution lines near the Cresta Dam. One of the lines remained energized and started a catastrophic electrical transmission line fire, which burned across nearly a million acres in four Northern California counties. Investigation by the Safety and Enforcement Division (SED) determined that PG&E had violated numerous regulations and requirements of the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) General Order (GO) 95 and the California Public Utilities Code (PU Code).

Powerful utility companies block upgraded safety regulations

State regulators have long recognized that deteriorating power equipment and transmission lines could spark utility line fires in California’s vulnerable terrain and dry climate. New safety rules proposed in 2001 would have required SCE and other utility companies to remove old unused lines unless they could prove the lines would be used in the future.

But utility companies pushed back. In 2005, after two years of resistance and debate, California’s Public Utilities Commission approved a revised and far weaker version of the regulations, heavily influenced by pressure from the utility companies. The new rules allowed old, out-of-use lines to be kept in place until utility company executives decide the lines are “permanently abandoned.”

Evidence points to just such a line as the cause of the Eaton Fire, strengthening the case for power line fire lawsuits.

Aitken Aitken Cohn helps Altadena residents pursue justice

Eight months after the Eaton Fire, many survivors are still fighting for fair compensation for losses caused by the electrical transmission line fire.

The seasoned wildfire attorneys at Aitken * Aitken * Cohn are helping Eaton Fire victims file power line fire lawsuits against:

• Southern California Edison (SCE) for neglecting to properly inspect, maintain, repair, shut down, or remove hazardous utility lines and aging equipment, contributing to their utility company wildfire liability.
• Insurance companies for bad faith; delaying, denying, or undervaluing clients’ legitimate claims.

Eaton Fire survivors may be entitled to compensation for fire-related:

• Property damage and loss
• Personal injury or illness
• Wrongful death
• Relocation expenses
• Lost wages or income
• Pain, suffering, emotional distress

The toll of the Eaton Fire — financial and human — is almost incalculable. Thousands of individuals, and the entire community, will be grappling with the scale of this utility line fire for a long time to come. At Aitken Aitken Cohn, we are dedicated advocates for wildfire victims. We have decades of experience fighting powerful companies — a proven track record of holding insurers accountable for bad faith practices and utility companies accountable for damage caused by negligence, inadequate safety measures, and dangerous electrical transmission line fires. Speak with one of our Orange County personal injury attorneys today by calling (866) 498-5242, or contact us online. We’re here to help.