LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (KNX) – A lawsuit was filed against Southern California Edison Tuesday, claiming the utility company was responsible for the Coastal Fire that damaged multi-million dollar homes in the Laguna Niguel neighborhood last week.
The fire began just before 3 p.m. on May 11. A report released hours later by SoCal Edison revealed: “circuit activity occurring close in time to the reported time of the fire.”
On Tuesday, officials said the fire had been fully contained.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.
The lawsuit claimed the company failed to cut back brush and vegetation and did not maintain its equipment properly.
Richard Bridgford, the attorney who filed the suit, said he believes there is enough evidence to attribute the fire back to SoCal Edison.
“We have infrared scans of the fire area; we have other photographs that are consistent with a burn pattern where the causation of the fire should be attributable to the utility,” he said.
Ramin Yazei, the Coronado Pointe Home Owners Association president, also lost his home in the fire. He said he doesn’t understand why utility companies don’t bury their powerlines.
“We got lucky that nobody died," he told KNX News. “The next time we might not be so lucky.”
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages, according to City News Service.
SoCal Edison declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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