Edison Asks Judge to Seal Papers on Its Probe of Calabasas Fire

Accused of playing a role in the 1996 Calabasas fire, Southern California Edison has asked a judge to block release of its own investigation into the cause of the devastating blaze.

About 50 law enforcement investigators raided four offices of the utility this week, based on a search warrant that alleged the fire started when trees brushed against a power line that Edison had failed to keep clear of vegetation.

The raid, led by California Department of Forestry investigators, netted thousands of documents.

But the investigators did not receive 200 pages that Edison lawyers claimed should be sealed because they are privileged information, court officials said Wednesday.

The 200 pages include about 50 that discuss Edison’s own inquiry into the fire, along with e-mail among the company’s executives, the officials said.

Edison lawyers are scheduled to seek sealing of the documents during an Oct. 14 appearance before Superior Court Judge William Pounders, who signed the search warrant for the raid.

The fire destroyed nearly a dozen homes and other buildings and injured 11 people, including six firefighters, one of them critically.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said they concluded that the blaze started accidentally and are not considering any further action.

Fire Capt. Steve Valenzuela said county fire investigators were not aware of the raid and were not asked to participate.

On Wednesday, forestry agency investigators began to sift through hundreds of pages of documents and computer files that nearly 50 officers from seven law enforcement agencies confiscated by the box load.

“Our chief investigator said it was a very successful operation,” said Karen Terrill, a forestry agency spokeswoman.

But she added: “There is some possibility that we may go back for further documentation.”

An Edison spokesman declined to comment on the investigation and the documents withheld, saying only that the company has complied with the Forestry Department.

“We have been cooperating on an ongoing basis on this matter,” said spokesman Steven Conroy. “The serving of the search warrant was a surprise.”

He also rejected suggestions that Edison’s negligence caused the massive fire.

The October 1996 blaze, driven by strong Santa Ana winds, burned for a week over 13,900 acres across the Santa Monica Mountains from Calabasas to the Malibu oceanfront.

State and local fire departments spent more than $6 million extinguishing it. The blaze nearly killed Glendale Firefighter William Jensen, 53, who suffered burns over 70% of his body when he was overtaken by flames in Corral Canyon.

After investigators determined the cause of the blaze, they warned Edison officials not to take away anything from around the utility pole where it began, according to sources, who said Edison officials nonetheless removed nearby vegetation.

The forestry agency has been seeking evidence and information from Edison about the alleged removal ever since.

The search focused on any documents that shed light on the activities around a power pole nearest the blaze’s origin, which is 45 feet south of a guardrail on southbound U.S. 101 near Calabasas and Mureau roads.

At Edison’s Rosemead headquarters, lawyers for the company kept investigators from seizing about 200 pages, claiming they contained privileged information and could not be confiscated, said James S. Davis, a Rancho Cucamonga attorney who served as an independent “special master” for Judge Pounders.

A special master acts as an ombudsman between law enforcement officials and the target of a search warrant to ensure that privileged information is protected.

Davis said he reviewed the 200 pages in question and determined that they should be sealed until Pounders makes a final determination.

Davis said most of the information in them related to Edison’s position on regulations and policies for tree trimming and vegetation clearance.

“It was either directly related to the fire or discussed vegetation control and tree trimming,” Davis said.

He declined to provide more detail about the documents, pending a decision by the judge.

Forestry Department spokeswoman Terrill said the agency’s investigators believe it will take several weeks to comb through the documents before turning over evidence to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.

She said investigators are trying to determine if Edison can be charged with recklessly causing a fire that results in damage or injury. The crime is punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 and six years in jail, she said.

Times staff writer Jose Cardenas contributed to this story.