A California Utility Company Agrees to Pay $80 Million to Resolve Federal Lawsuit Over 2017 Thomas Fire

Utility giant Southern California Edison has agreed to pay $80 million to settle the US Forest Service’s claims relating to the 2017 Thomas Fire, which at the time was the largest wildfire in California’s modern history, federal prosecutors said Monday.
The federal government had sued the company in 2020 on the forest service’s behalf, alleging the utility’s power lines ignited the blaze, which according to state fire officials burned more than 280,000 acres across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, killed two people and destroyed more than 1,000 structures.
The lawsuit sought to recover the forest service’s costs in fighting the fire and for damages it caused to Los Padres National Forest, the US attorney’s office for California’s central district said. In the settlement, which was finalized Friday, the utility has agreed to pay the $80 million without admitting wrongdoing or fault, prosecutors said.
Read the source article at CNN