Jan 16 (Reuters) - Southern California Edison sued Los

Angeles County, water agencies and Southern California Gas ( SOCGM ) on

Friday, alleging they bore some responsibility for last year's

deadly Eaton fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and

businesses.

The utility, owned by Edison International ( EIX ), made

those claims in complaints filed in Los ‌Angeles Superior Court,

where some 1,000 lawsuits by residents and business owners are

seeking to hold SCE responsible for the ​property destruction

that occurred.

The Eaton fire ignited on January 7, 2025, and ripped

through Southern ‍California, killing 19 people and destroying

more than 9,400 single-family homes ⁠and other buildings.

SCE ⁠has acknowledged that circumstantial evidence suggests

one of its idled high-voltage transmission lines could have

ignited the Eaton blaze ‌amid winds that topped 100 mph (160

kph).

But in Friday's ​complaints, SCE says numerous analyses and

reports have identified other factors that likely contributed to

the fire's severity.

It cites a failure by Los Angeles ⁠County and various

government agencies to issue ‍timely evacuation ​alerts, a lack of

water, overgrown brush on publicly owned land and a failure to

allocate sufficient resources for fire suppression.

Had the county and agencies acted with ‍due care, SCE

alleges, "most of the injuries and fatalities caused by the

Eaton fire, as well as much of the property that was damaged,

could have been avoided or significantly reduced."

In its lawsuit against the gas-distribution utility

SoCalGas, a subsidiary of Sempra ( SRE ), SCE alleges risks and

deficiencies within its natural-gas distribution system also

contributed to the fire's spread.

The ​lawsuit says ‍SoCalGas knew its system posed fire-related

risks yet failed to include mitigation measures. SCE says this

led to gas leaks, gas fires, reignition of fires and ​explosions

during the early stages of the Eaton fire.

Sempra ( SRE ) and Los Angeles County did not respond to requests

for comment.

SCE faces 998 lawsuits by businesses and individuals over

the Eaton fire, as well as lawsuits by government entities and

insurers. The U.S. Department of Justice also sued the company

in September over damage caused to National Forest System lands.

Nearly 2,000 families have submitted claims ​through SCE's

Wildlife Recovery Compensation Program, and it has extended 95

offers totaling $42.8 million. More than half of those offers

have been accepted, the company says.

"We remain committed to the communities impacted by the

January fires and helping ‍them recover," SCE spokesperson David

Eisenhauer said.