Southern California Edison has paid $900,000 to resolve a federal claim for damages from a 2014 wildfire that burned Forest Service lands in Kern County, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said Monday.
The 4,392-acre Way Fire started on Aug. 18, 2014, in Wofford Heights in Kern County. Federal authorities alleged that the fire stemmed from SoCal Edison’s negligence.
“This settlement goes a long way toward compensating the public for the damage to public lands caused by the fire and the expense of fighting the Way Fire,” Scott said in a news release.
“A lot of time and resources go into both fighting fires and cost recovery, and recouping these costs is important,” said Randy Moore, regional forester for the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region.
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$200 Million in Wildfire Settlements
Since 2012, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California has secured settlements in more than 25 different cases involving wildfire damage to federal lands, with settlements valued at nearly $200 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincente A. Tennerelli handled the case.
