Three families who suffered significant property damage in the Fairview fire near Hemet have sued Southern California Edison, asserting that the public utility was responsible for the ignition earlier this month of the deadly 28,307-acre blaze because it failed to maintain its electrical lines.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money for repairs, lost wages, mental anguish and attorney’s fees.
“Their equipment is too old, they deferred the replacement of their aging infrastructure, and this is the result,” Alexander “Trey” Robertson IV, the attorney who filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, Sept. 21, said in an interview.
Edison filed a report with the California Public Utilities Commission of “circuit activity” on its lines that happened at 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 5 at Fairview and Bautista roads east of Hemet.