SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Department of Justice will not bring criminal charges against a utility whose equipment sparked a 2018 fire that killed three people and destroyed more than 1,600 homes and other structures.
The department said Friday that it found insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution against Southern California Edison for the Woolsey Fire.
The fire forced nearly 300,000 residents of Los Angeles and Ventura counties to flee.
Investigators found that high winds blew a loose guy wire into electrified conductors, causing an electrical arc. But they say they couldn't prove that the company knew it was causing a risk and ignored the danger.
