SoCal Edison Settles With Counties, Cities for Fire Damages

Southern California Edison will pay $360 million to settle a lawsuit with 23 public entities for damages from the 2017 Thomas and Koenigstein Fires, the 2018 Montecito Debris Flows and the 2018 Woolsey Fire, according to law firm Baron & Budd, which represented the public entities. The $360 million only deals with government agencies and “does not affect the claims of residents, individuals, or businesses affected by the fires and debris flows,” the law firm said in a statement. The Thomas Fire started in Ventura County and burned nearly 282,000 acres with more than 1,000 buildings destroyed. The Woolsey Fire burned nearly 97,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. In the Valley region, the settling entities include Los Angeles County, Ventura County and the cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Baron & Budd is based in Dallas and has an office in Encino.