USA Today (January 13, 2025) — A Southern California woman who lost her house in the wildfires devastating the area says a local utility company sparked the inferno that turned her longtime home into cinders, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Evangeline Iglesias says the utility, Southern California Edison, failed to shut down its power equipment despite strong warnings, resulting in the Eaton wildfire that consumed her Altadena house, according to the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The Eaton Fire east of downtown Los Angeles is one of three wildfires still burning in the area, according to CalFire. It has consumed over 14,000 acres and destroyed nearly 2,000 structures, the agency says. Its cause remains under investigation, according to the agency.

Authorities don’t know yet what caused the wildfires that killed at least 24 people, destroyed thousands of homes and businesses and burned up tens of thousands of acres of storied landscapes and communities. Dry vegetation, high winds and low humidity fueled the flames once they ignited.

Southern Californians forced to flee their homes have pointed the finger at politicians and others. Fire agencies have already said they are investigating links between the utility and the smaller but still burning Hurst Fire. Iglesias’ lawsuit is among the first of many that will blame utility companies and Southern California Edison in particular.

The lawsuit cites multiple eyewitness accounts and images that it claims appear to show a fire at the base of a transmission tower owned by the utility.

“They knew like everyone else did of the severe weather warnings, dry weather, high wind gusts, they had tools they could have used to mitigate the wildfire risk,” said Iglesias’ attorney Ali Moghaddas of the Edelson law firm. “They have choices when they face these moments and obviously they made the wrong one.” Read more here.