Southern California Edison (SCE), Utility Tree Service LLC (UTS), and Frontier Communications Holdings LLC have paid US$22 million (€19.98 million) to resolve claims on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service. This will recoup costs and damages associated with a 2016 wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest.
The Rey Fire ignited on August 18, 2016, when a tree fell onto powerlines and communication lines owned, respectively, by SCE and Frontier. In 2019, the United States filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Forest Service against SCE and Frontier as well as UTS, which was SCE’s vegetation management contractor to recover costs for the damages that the Rey Fire caused.
The United States alleged that the impact of the tree on Frontier’s and SCE’s lines caused a malfunction of SCE’s power equipment farther down the power lines and caused an energized power line to fall to the ground. The energised power line ignited adjacent dry vegetation. The Rey Fire burned more than 32,000 acres, including 19,000 acres of National Forest System lands in Santa Barbara County.
“This settlement will compensate the public for the expense of fighting the Rey Fire and restoring these federal lands that are enjoyed by all Americans,” First assistant United States attorney Joseph T. McNally says. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively pursue recovery against those who cause damages to our precious national resources.”
SCE, UTS, and Frontier agreed to pay the settlement without admitting wrongdoing or fault.
This case was handled by assistant United States attorneys Matthew Barragan and Margaret Chen of the complex and defensive litigation section.
Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @VanillaPlus OR @jcvplus
