California utility says it may have sparked deadly 2018 fire

Southern California Edison says it’s likely its equipment caused a wildfire last year that killed three people and destroyed more than 1,600 homes and other buildings.

The Woolsey Fire in November burned from north of Los Angeles south through Malibu to the sea.

In its quarterly earnings report released Tuesday, Southern California Edison said that Ventura County Fire Department investigators determined the company’s equipment sparked the blaze.

Southern California Edison says that unless there’s other evidence, the utility “believes that it is likely” its equipment was responsible. Last year, the company told the state Public Utilities Commission only that its equipment might have caused a power outage before the blaze started.

The utility is facing lawsuits from relatives of fire victims blaming it for the blaze.

Electrical equipment has been linked to several of California’s most devastating recent fires.