Southern California Edison has come under legal scrutiny following the Woolsey Fire, from both victims and investors. The attorneys who sued Edison over the Thomas Fire filed suit recently on behalf of victims of the Woolsey Fire, which has claimed three lives and destroyed more than 1,500 structures. At about the same time, stock prices fell dramatically for SoCal Edison’s parent company, Edison International, prompting an investor class action.
In the Woolsey Fire, SoCal Edison disclosed to the California Public Utilities Commission on November 8 that a circuit outage near Chatsworth occurred two minutes before the fire was reported on November 7. By the following Monday, when the CPUC announced it was investigating Edison for the fire, its stock price had fallen by more than 12 percent, according to the investor lawsuit. Filed in the federal Central District Court for California, the investor suit alleges the utility failed to disclose to purchasers that its lines and equipment were neither safe nor in compliance with state law. The share price ultimately fell 32 percent, according to multiple media accounts.
The Woolsey incident is still under investigation by Cal Fire and Ventura County Fire, and the cause of the fire has not been determined. A spokesperson for Edison said the company was focused on restoring power to Malibu and helping its customers. Fire officials also have not yet stated an official cause for the Thomas Fire.