Edison International Inc.’s southern California utility was sued over the death of a woman whose home burned in one of the catastrophic Los Angeles fires, in a case brought by a prominent civil rights lawyer on behalf of a historically Black community.

The L.A.-area fires may pose the first big test of California’s wildfire fund, which was set up in 2019 to protect utilities from bankruptcy.

One lawsuit, brought by attorneys for a homeowner who lost their residence, alleges that Edison's equipment was the ignition source, adding that footage and witness accounts reportedly show flames erupting directly beneath electrical towers as the fire began.

Edison International (EIX) stock plunged over 11% in premarket trading on Tuesday following multiple lawsuits alleging that the company's equipment ignited the Eaton Fire, one of the wildfires still raging near Los Angeles.

Ben Crump filed the suit on Wednesday on behalf of Evelyn Cathirell, one of 17 people who died in the Eaton fire in Altadena, an unincorporated area north of Pasadena with a significant Black population.

Two lawsuits, filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, allege Edison's failure to maintain vegetation and de-energize transmission poles caused the Eaton fire in Los Angeles.

Edison International Inc.’s southern California utility faces lawsuits blaming the energy provider’s equipment for igniting one of the wildfires still raging in the second-largest US metropolis.

Southern California Edison, a unit of utility firm Edison International ... with properties destroyed by the Eaton Fire in the Pasadena area. The lawsuit is on behalf of a group of homeowners ...

At least 24 people have died and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong Santa Ana winds, continue to rage

Southern California Edison, the electrical utility for Los Angeles, has been sued for its alleged role in starting one of the raging Los Angeles fires that have collectively killed at least 24 people and displaced tens of thousands of people from their homes.

Fire agencies are investigating whether Southern California Edison -- a subsidiary of Edison International -- infrastructure sites caused fires in areas devastated by the Eaton and Hurst wildfires. "You can't rule out anything ever until you can get your eyes on the equipment," Pizarro said.

Dozens of people are believed to have died in the Palisades and Eaton fires, which have burned down whole swaths of communities