Insurers have asked utility to preserve evidence for LA wildfires, Edison says

Investing.com - Southern California Edison has said that it has received requests from attorneys representing insurance companies to preserve evidence related to the Eaton (NYSE:ETN ) Fire in Los Angeles.

In a filing with California regulators, the division of US group Edison International (NYSE:EIX ) noted that no fire agency has yet suggested that its electrical facilities were involved in starting the fire. The utility also said it has not had any requests to remove or retain equipment.

The Eaton Fire is one of several wildfires burning through neighborhoods across Los Angeles that have reportedly left tens of thousands of structures destroyed and killed at least 10 people. Fanned on in part by warm desert winds, the fires continued into a third night on Thursday.

Together with the Palisades Fire between Santa Monica and Malibu, the Eaton Fire near the Pasadena area have consumed more than 34,000 acres, with whole neighborhoods being leveled. They are among the most destructive fires in the history of Los Angeles.

Citing preliminary analysis of electrical circuit information for the energized transmission lines going through the area of the Eaton Fire, Southern California Edison added that there were "no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies until more than one hour" after the fire broke out.

"Aside from the preservation notices suggesting SCE's potential involvement and significant media attention surrounding the fire, we do not believe this incident meets the reporting requirements," Southern California Edison said.

Damage and economic losses from the fires have been estimated at $135 billion to $150 billion, signaling a long recovery and a spike in homeowners' insurance costs, Reuters has reported, citing private forecaster AccuWeather.

In a note to clients, analysts at Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn ) flagged that in previous significant California wildfires home prices and construction expenses were "considerably lower" than current levels.

"Consequently, a comparable number of damaged structures today would translate to significantly higher insured losses," the analysts led by Cave Montazeri said.

Shares in Edison International slipped by 1% in premarket US trading on Friday. Earlier in the week, the stock price slid by more than 10%.

Other insurers, including Allstate (NYSE:ALL ), Travelers (NYSE:TRV ) and Hanover Insurance (NYSE:THG ) were also trading lower prior to the open on Wall Street.

(Reuters contributed reporting.)

Source: Investing.com