LOS ANGELES — Southern California Edison has reached a record $82.5 million settlement with the United States to resolve claims stemming from the 2020 Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National

Southern California Edison (SCE), a unit of utility Edison International, agreed on Friday to pay $82.5 million to settle claims with the U.S. Forest Service for costs and damages resulting from the Bobcat Fire in 2020.

Federal officials allege that the Bobcat fire ignited when trees that were not properly maintained by Southern California Edison came into contact with power lines.

Federal authorities say the fire harmed important habitats and that resources from the settlement will help rehabilitate burned areas.

One of California’s largest utilities is to pay the US forest service US$82.5 million for a wildfire that burned tens of thousands of acres of woodland, the government said today. The 2020 Bobcat Fire destroyed dozens of buildings as it tore through the San Gabriel Mountains north of Los Angeles.

A Southern California electric utility company agreed to pay $82.5 million to resolve federal claims arising from the 2020 Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest above Los Angeles, the Justice Department announced on Friday.