SoCal Edison 'Questions' Ventura County Fire Department Report
March 13 2019 - 7:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Josh Beckerman
Edison International (EIX) unit Southern California Edison said
it "questions" a Ventura County Fire Department report about the
December 2017 Thomas Fire.
The utility said it provided evidence to investigators about the
ignition in the Anlauf Canyon area, and said "the report does not
suggest this evidence was considered."
Earlier Wednesday, the department said an investigation
determined the cause of the fire to be the utility's power lines. A
"high wind event" caused power lines to come into contact, creating
an electrical arc and releasing "hot, burning or molten material
onto the ground," which ignited, the department said.
The utility said "evidence critical to the investigation also
was not preserved as a result of the failure of VCFD investigators
to prevent the destruction of that evidence," including physical
evidence and webcam footage.
SCE reiterated its call for "comprehensive reform to urgently
address the growing wildfire threat."
--Stephen Nakrosis contributed to this article.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 13, 2019 20:33 ET (00:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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