SCE to pay $80M in 2017 Thomas Fire, one of the largest wildfires in California’s modern history
Fire, smoke, and ash from the Thomas Fire burning in the hills above Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria along the eastern edges of the county, have driven away the tourists on December 13, 2017, in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by George Rose
LOS ANGELES - Southern California Edison (SCE) has reached a settlement agreement with the United States, agreeing to pay $80 million to resolve claims stemming from the 2017 Thomas Fire in the Los Padres National Forest, the Justice Department announced.
The settlement, finalized on Friday, marks the largest wildfire cost recovery settlement by the United States in the Central District of California. The Thomas Fire, which ravaged more than 280,000 acres, including significant National Forest System lands in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, ignited in two locations on the evening of December 4, 2017.
The lawsuit, filed by the United States in 2020 on behalf of the Forest Service against SCE, sought to recoup costs incurred fighting the Thomas Fire and damages to the Los Padres National Forest. The United States alleged that SCE-owned power lines were responsible for both ignitions of the fire.
Huge Pyrocumulus cloud of smoke rises to the north of downtown Ventura as seen Sunday afternoon from the Ventura Pier as the Thomas Fire threatens Carpenteria and Montecito. (Photo by Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
According to the allegations, SCE power lines made contact with each other during a high-wind event in Anlauf Canyon, causing heated material to ignite dry vegetation below the conductors. Additionally, an SCE power pole transformer failure on Koenigstein Road led to an energized power line falling to the ground, igniting adjacent dry vegetation.
Ventura, California, Destroyed homes from 2018 Thomas Fire off Foothill Road in the Via Arroyo and Via Pasito neighborhood, the largest fire in California history. (Photo by: Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
"This record settlement provides significant compensation to taxpayers for the extensive costs of fighting the Thomas Fire and for the widespread damage to public lands," said First Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. "The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively pursue compensation from any entity that causes harm to our forests and other precious national resources."
SCE agreed to pay the $80 million settlement within 60 days of the effective date of the settlement agreement, which was February 23. Assistant United States Attorneys Jill S. Casselman and Matthew Smock negotiated the settlement in this case.