Pasadena Jewish Temple sues Southern California Edison for Role in Eaton fire
There is also a deeper and more unsettling truth that should not be ignored: California built a climate and energy regime that celebrated rapid renewable build‑out and relentless urban expansion while letting wildfire prevention lag dangerously behind because of the “environment”.
More than a year after the Los Angeles wildfires were finally contained, the devastation they unleashed continues to haunt communities like the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center (PJTC), which is now suing Southern California Edison (SCE) over the Eaton Fire that reduced its sanctuary and preschool to ash.
The lawsuit alleges that the utility’s negligence and aging transmission lines helped spark the blaze, but for congregants who lost not just buildings but a spiritual home, the legal fight is only one part of a much longer struggle to rebuild their lives and traditions amid lingering grief and displacement.
The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison Tuesday, claiming the electric company was to blame for igniting last year’s Eaton fire, which destroyed the congregation’s historic sanctuary, preschool and other buildings.
“Our congregation has been without a physical home for more than a year, at a time when our members had the deepest need for refuge and healing,” Senior Rabbi Joshua Ratner said in a statement. “While we’ve continued to gather and support one another, the loss is deeply felt.”
David Eisenhauer, an Edison spokesman, said the company would respond to the complaint through the court process.
“Our hearts remain with the people affected by the Eaton fire,” Eisenhauer said. “We remain committed to wildfire mitigation through grid hardening, situational awareness and enhanced operational practices.”
The complaint asserts that SCE was negligent in maintaining the power lines and failed to follow proper wildfire protocols. The only items members of the PJTC were able to save were the Torah scrolls.
According to the complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, electrical faults were detected on Edison transmission lines in the Eaton Canyon area shortly after 6:10 p.m. on January 7, 2025, during extreme fire weather conditions. Witnesses reported seeing arcing and sparks near Edison transmission towers, followed by the rapid spread of fire toward nearby communities, including PJTC’s campus in Altadena.
The lawsuit alleges that Edison failed to follow its own wildfire safety protocols despite advance warnings, including Red Flag conditions and the area’s designation as a High Fire Threat District. The complaint further alleges that Edison did not de-energize certain lines, failed to disable automatic reclosing, and left an idle, decommissioned transmission line in place — conditions PJTC contends allowed the fire to ignite and spread.
The Eaton Fire destroyed Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center’s sanctuary, preschool, and community buildings, displacing congregational life and eliminating a physical home that had served generations of families since the early 20th century. While members of the congregation were able to rescue sacred Torah scrolls, the campus itself was lost.
The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center has been destroyed by wildfires ripping through parts of the Los Angeles area. Praying for everyone’s safety 🙏 pic.twitter.com/o9vhf2tx63
— Noa Tishby (@noatishby) January 8, 2025
This lawsuit is one of hundreds currently making their way through the courts on behalf of the victims of the Los Angeles Wildfires.
Edison is already facing hundreds of lawsuits from fire victims, as well as one by the U.S. Department of Justice. The utility is offering compensation to victims who agree to give up their right to sue the company for the blaze.
Under California law, most of those payments, as well as the lawsuit settlements, are expected to be covered by a state wildfire fund that lawmakers created to shield the three biggest for-profit utilities from bankruptcy if their equipment ignites a catastrophic fire. Some wildfire victims say the law has gone too far and doesn’t keep the utilities accountable for their mistakes.
The following video shows the extent of the damage.
As PJTC fights in court to hold SCE accountable, there is also a deeper and more unsettling truth that should not be ignored: California built a climate and energy regime that celebrated rapid renewable build‑out and relentless urban expansion while letting wildfire prevention lag dangerously behind because of the “environment”.
For years, policymakers accepted aging transmission corridors threading through overgrown canyons and expanding suburbs as the unavoidable price of progress, even as red‑flag warnings and wind‑driven infernos became a seasonal norm.
Tragically, the very framework meant to green the grid and manage growth did not equally prioritize clearing fuels, hardening lines, and aggressively reducing ignition risks, thus leaving historic communities like PJTC to bear the highest cost when the Santa Ana winds started blowing.
The impacted communities in the Los Angeles area will struggle for some time to come, despite the recent executive order by President Donald Trump.
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Comments
Y’all need to stop complaining about your minor inconvenience – y’all were able to save those toilet rolls or whatever ya call ‘em, right?
Having your temple burn down is a small price to pay so that an obese black lesbian whose skill in firefighting is limited to extinguishing a lit match can achieve a position of prominence in a fire department and say that if you’re trapped in a burning building it’s so sad, too bad for you; she ain’t gonna save your butt.
(/sarc, in case it’s necessary to point it out)
I think it was a video from California where they were hiring people for the fire department that “look like you.” Not everyone has to be a large strong white man. And if you object to a small waif coming to rescue you because you can’t make it out and she’s too small the video said well maybe you should have thought of that and lost weight or something to that effect!
Here you go.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1cxSLXmVfkA
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1cxSLXmVfkA
Now to be fair – I live in SoCal and am a Torah observant Jew – hi milhouse!- my recollection – and I could be wrong – is that the government mandated a certain amount of energy must be renewable AND they limit how much the utility can charge residents. Renewable is much more expensive than fossil fuel which leaves a smaller amount of money left over for meaningful work, meaning fire mitigation work AND the environmentalists restrict what you can do. I recall a story about one of the recent Topanga fires where there was a whole lot of fire susceptible trees that no one was allowed to cut down because they were protected species and naturally the all burned and allowed the fire to spread.
I think the responsibility is primarily th governments. The utility’s hands are tied by government regulation. They should be suing th government.
Of course you are correct but this is a liberal treife “ Temple” with a spiritual leader with less Torah scholarship than a 15 year old yeshiva bocher. They are suing the utility because of their policy agenda.
Aren’t there various theories on ignition?
They arrested suspected arsonist? Also fire department may have failed to completely extinguish earlier fire that was left smoldering? Winds can carry burning embers for miles?
Who bears liability for dry fire hydrants?
The fires that burned has had several fires over the years.. The electrical wires were one issue. Another was the response. Brush clearance another. There is also a lack of controlled burns in California. And the area the fire is Altadena, that is La county, whose board hard tilts to the left, and hires accordingly.
The fires are chum for the local lawyers.
Edison is told by a state board where condoned money, and in exchange they get a guaranteed rate of return and their executives get paid well. The state board is full of hacks. Green energy is pushed, and equipment replacement is not.
The California utilities have been scanting infrastructure maintenance for decades to keep their share prices (and executive compensation tied to share prices) high. Meanwhile, the PUC passes costs on to the ratepayers as much as they can.
Along comes “green” energy, another way to not pay for maintenance. Because if you fight global warming, no more fires, which are due to global warming “root cause!!” and not bad forest management (see “green”) which is more California than Fed, though both are culpable.
The congregants are suing the wrong entity. They should be suing themselves for electing such incompetents as fishy Bass and gruesome Newsom to office.
California sues itself for gross mismanagement. Expects to collect billions. Claims it’s Trump’s fault.
How is the UTILITY at fault rather than the state of California.
This is not a serious lawsuit and just providing cover for government incompetence and outright malfeasance.
Probably both at fault. Yes the utilities are hamstrung by gubmint regulations mandating “green” energy among other things. But in CA the utilities got fat and lazy after decades (more than a century) of being government-regulated monopolies. Same with PG&E in NorCal. Crony captialism at its finest.