Southern California Edison and two other entities agree to $22 million settlement over 2016 Rey Fire

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The U. S. Department of Justice announced a $22 million settlement Friday with Southern California Edison (SCE), Utility Tree Service (UTS), and Frontier Communications Holdings LLC to resolve claims linked to the Rey Fire in August of 2016.

The claims were filed on behalf of the U. S. Forest Service to recoup costs and damages to the Los Padres National Forest due to the August wildfire.

On Aug. 18, 2016 a tree fell across power lines and communication lines owned by SCE and Frontier, respectively.

In 2019, the U. S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the entities that owned the line, SCE and Frontier, as well as UTS, which was contracted by SCE for vegetation management.

The Department of Justice alleged that the impact of the tree caused an energized power line to fall to the ground which ignited adjacent 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,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively pursue recovery against those who cause damages to our precious national resources.”

All three entities agreed to pay the settlement without admitting wrongdoing or fault.