March 5 (Reuters) - The County of Los Angeles and City

of Pasadena, along with other public entities, filed lawsuits

against Edison International ( EIX ) and its subsidiary Southern

California Edison (SCE) on Wednesday, alleging their role in

igniting one of California's worst wildfires.

The Eaton fire, one of the major fires that began in early

January in the foothills east of Los Angeles, scorched more than

14,000 acres, nearly the size of Manhattan, and led to dozens of

deaths. Authorities have yet to release an official cause for

the major fires, including the Eaton blaze.

The County of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Flood

Control District, the Consolidated Fire Protection District of

Los Angeles County, the City of Pasadena and the City of Sierra

Madre filed lawsuits seeking compensation for damages to public

resources and infrastructure caused by fire.

"The lawsuits seek to hold Southern California Edison

responsible for this devastating fire and recover the critical

infrastructure and taxpayer resources that the fire destroyed,"

said Ed Diab, a founding partner of Diab Chambers representing

the public entities, in a statement.

The lawsuits, like others faced by the utility, cite

eyewitness accounts and images that show a fire at the base of a

transmission tower owned by SCE prior to the rapid spread of the

flames by powerful wind gusts.

Edison International ( EIX ) did not immediately respond to a

Reuters request for comment. Shares of the company have fallen

nearly 30% since the onset of the fires.

The lawsuits state that while the extent of damages and

losses from the Eaton Fire and its aftermath are still being

assessed, they are expected to be at least hundreds of millions

of dollars.

In its fourth-quarter earnings release, Edison International ( EIX )

said it had not yet concluded whether its equipment was

associated with the Eaton fire.