Amid a flurry of litigation connected to the Thomas Fire and the deadly Montecito mudslides that followed in its wake, Southern California Edison is pointing the finger at the county of Santa Barbara, city of Santa Barbara, and other government agencies claiming they’d long been aware of the potential for deadly debris flows in the area.
Southern California Edison made the allegations in the cross-complaint filed on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The complaint alleges that Santa Barbara County has a well-documented history of debris flows and charges that the city, county, and its flood control district, as well as the Montecito Water District and Caltrans, failed to ensure that Montecito’s infrastructure was adequate to reduce the impact of those types of natural disasters.
“This failure resulted in much of the harm from the 2018 mudslides,” Southern California Edison spokesman David Song wrote in response to questions from the Sun. “As alleged in the cross-complaint, these public agencies designed, built, and maintained debris basins, flood channels, and culverts that were wholly inadequate for the volume of debris that can be expected from watersheds in their jurisdictions, or took other actions that contributed to the damage experienced during the flooding.”
The Thomas Fire, a blaze that consumed more than 281,800 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, preceded the mudslides. On Jan. 9, 2018, heavy rainfall in the burn area caused the massive mudslides in Montecito, destroying more than 200 structures and killing nearly two-dozen people. According to the cross-complaint, Edison is facing more than 75 lawsuits in connection with the mudslides. Those lawsuits allege that the Thomas Fire, which they claim was caused by Edison, caused the mudslides. Edison’s cross-complaint states that the cause of the fire is still under investigation and that “numerous factors and causes” contributed to the damages caused by those natural disasters.
In a written response to questions from the Sun, Santa Barbara County Counsel Michael Ghizzoni indicated the county is reviewing the cross-complaint and plans to file a response in court at a later date.
“The county of Santa Barbara will vigorously defend against Southern California Edison’s claim that county agencies should pay for any damages for which Southern California Edison is found liable,” Ghizzoni wrote.
The city of Santa Barbara did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 7, 2019.