California Wildfire Litigation

Danko Meredith has represented clients in wildfire and utility disaster cases continuously since 2015 — from the Butte Fire through the North Bay fires, the Camp Fire, the Dixie Fire, and the 2025 Eaton Fire. Our litigation teams have represented thousands of individual clients in the most complex utility fire proceedings in California history and have recovered billions of dollars for wildfire survivors.

For a wildfire survivor, that history matters. Utilities like PG&E and Southern California Edison are well-funded defendants who retain armies of expert witnesses and litigate aggressively. The lawyers that achieve the best results for wildfire survivors are those that have been doing this work long enough to know how utilities investigate fires, how they defend cases, and when to settle versus when to try.

Many fire lawyers claim experience against experience, but Mike Danko is one of the very few in California who has actually taken a utility company to a successful jury verdict on a fire or explosion claim. That willingness to go to trial — and the credibility that comes with it — consistently produces better outcomes at the negotiating table as well.

If you have been affected by a California utility wildfire or disaster, contact Danko Meredith for a free consultation. There are no fees or costs unless we recover for you.

Some of The Fire Cases We Have Fought

Eaton Fire (2025)

The second most destructive wildfire in California history, the Eaton Fire killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings, many in the community of Altadena. Danko Meredith gathered the necessary evidence and filed suit against Southern California Edison on behalf of clients on January 23, 2025 — within weeks of ignition. That evidence showed the fire started directly beneath an SCE transmission tower and pointed to SCE’s equipment as the ignition’s origin. SCE had left standing a deactivated line adjacent to its live equipment for decades – a practice experts found to be dangerous. Confronted with that evidence, in December 2025, Pedro Pizarro, CEO of SCE’s parent company Edison International, publicly acknowledged that SCE’s equipment is “likely the cause” of the fire and that the company sees no other probable ignition source. As we noted at the time, we have seen this pattern before — initial denials followed by gradual admissions as investigations move forward. We know how to turn those admissions into leverage for survivors. The first bellwether trial is set for January 2027.  

Dixie Fire (2021)

The largest single wildfire in California history, the Dixie Fire burned more than 960,000 acres across five Northern California counties and destroyed the town of Greenville. It was caused by a PG&E distribution line contacting a tree that PG&E should have cleared but failed to. Danko Meredith represented survivors of the Dixie Fire and recovered more than $50 million for our clients.  

Camp Fire and North Bay Fires (2018 and 2017)

The Camp Fire was the deadliest wildfire in California history, killing 85 people and destroying the town of Paradise. It was caused by PG&E transmission equipment and led to PG&E pleading guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The North Bay fires of 2017 — including fires in Napa, Sonoma, and other counties — were among the first major utility wildfires in the modern era of California wildfire litigation, and Danko Meredith was on the front lines from the beginning.

When the Camp Fire litigation began, PG&E filed for bankruptcy — a move that could have left tens of thousands of fire survivors with little or nothing. Danko Meredith was part of the litigation effort that negotiated PG&E’s establishment of a trust totaling $14.5 billion to compensate survivors of both the Camp Fire and the North Bay fires. Across those proceedings, we represented approximately 6,700 individual clients and worked to ensure that each received fair compensation from the trust.

Butte Fire (2015)

The Butte Fire was a 2015 PG&E-caused fire in Amador and Calaveras counties that burned more than 70,000 acres and destroyed nearly 1,000 structures. Danko Meredith represented survivors of the Butte Fire and recovered more than $100 million for our clients — one of the first major utility wildfire recoveries in California.

Moss Landing Fire (2024)

The Moss Landing disaster was not a wildfire but a catastrophic battery storage facility fire at a power plant along Monterey Bay. The out-of-control blaze sent a toxic plume over surrounding communities, displacing residents and causing significant health and property damage. Danko Meredith is pursuing claims against PG&E — which profited from the facility’s operations — in addition to other responsible parties. Other firms declined to name PG&E as a defendant in the Moss Landing litigation, choosing instead to pursue only equipment manufacturers and other entities. We believe the evidence supports holding PG&E accountable as the entity ultimately responsible for what happened at the facility from which it was profiting.  

Maui / Lahaina Fire (2023)

The 2023 Lahaina fire was one of the deadliest wildfires in American history, killing more than 100 people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. Danko Meredith represented survivors as part of the litigation team that recovered more than $4 billion for Maui fire survivors.

How Utility Companies Cause Wildfires

Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and other California utilities have a legal duty to install, inspect, maintain, and operate their equipment with reasonable care. When they fail that duty and a fire or disaster results, they are liable for the losses their negligence caused.

The causes of utility fires are well understood — and largely preventable:

Deferred maintenance and “run to failure” decisions.

Utilities sometimes operate aging infrastructure without adequate maintenance because immediate repairs cost more than the calculated risk of equipment failure — until a wildfire results. Power lines, towers, conductors, and hardware deteriorate with age and exposure. Utilities that fail to inspect and maintain this equipment, or that make deliberate decisions to defer repairs, create conditions for catastrophic failure.

Vegetation contact with power lines.

Trees and branches that grow into or fall onto energized lines are a leading cause of ignition. Utilities have a legal obligation to maintain adequate clearance between their lines and surrounding vegetation. Failures of vegetation management programs have caused some of California’s largest fires, including the Camp Fire and Dixie Fire.

Failure to de-energize during high fire danger.

When severe wind events create conditions for rapid fire spread, utilities have the ability — and increasingly the legal obligation — to shut off power proactively. Failures to implement timely public safety power shutoffs have contributed to multiple major fires, including the Eaton Fire.

Leaving decommissioned equipment in place.

The Eaton Fire illustrates a less-discussed form of utility negligence: the failure to remove retired infrastructure. SCE left a decommissioned transmission tower and power lines standing adjacent to live equipment in the hills above Altadena for decades. The result was catastrophic.

Contractor negligence.

Utilities routinely hire outside contractors for inspection, maintenance, and vegetation management. When a contractor’s negligence contributes to a fire, both the contractor and the utility may be liable.

How Wildfire Claims Work

Utility wildfire claims are civil lawsuits seeking compensation for losses caused by a utility’s negligence. Recoverable damages typically include property losses, temporary housing and relocation costs, business interruption, personal injuries including burns and smoke inhalation, wrongful death, and emotional distress.

Cases involving major fires are typically organized as mass tort proceedings involving hundreds or even thousands of claimants. Danko Meredith has the experience and resources to navigate these complex proceedings and to advocate effectively for individual clients within them. We have done it in the Butte Fire, the North Bay fires, the Camp Fire, the Dixie Fire, and the Maui fire — and we are doing it now in the Eaton Fire and Moss Landing proceedings.

Wildfire claims are pursued against the responsible utility, not against your homeowners’ insurance carrier. Many survivors have both an insurance claim and a civil claim. Both should be pursued, and the two proceedings require coordination.

Why the Choice of Attorney Matters

Not all firms that advertise wildfire representation have the same experience — or the same willingness to take the fight all the way. In the Moss Landing litigation, for example, not all firms were willing to take on and name PG&E as a defendant, despite evidence that PG&E might be liable.  That could potentially limit their clients’ potential recovery. Danko Meredith was not afraid and went ahead and named PG&E as a defendant.

In the Camp Fire proceedings, we stayed in the litigation through PG&E’s bankruptcy — a complex proceeding that many firms were not equipped to navigate — and helped secure the $14.5 billion trust that compensated survivors.

We have the track record, the resources, and the willingness to take on utilities at every stage of the process. The results for our clients reflect that.

Contact Danko Meredith

If you or your family has been affected by a California utility wildfire or disaster, we want to hear from you. We offer free consultations and handle all wildfire cases on a contingency basis — no fees, no costs, unless we recover for you.