Edison Seeks to Withhold Its Calabasas Fire Probe

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 utility offices 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 investigators did not receive 200 pages of documents that Edison lawyers contended should be sealed because they are privileged information, court officials said Wednesday.

The 200 pages include about 50 pages that discuss Edison’s own investigation into the fire, along with electronic mail among Edison executives, according to court officials.

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

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

While state forestry officials investigate Edison’s role in the fire, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said Wednesday they concluded that the fire was caused by accident and are not considering any further action.

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

On Wednesday, forestry investigators began to sift through hundreds of pages of documents and computer files confiscated by officers from seven law enforcement agencies.

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

Terrill said the department’s investigators have just begun examining the confiscated documents and are not sure what they have.

She said the chief investigator could not comment on the significance of the 200 pages that Edison is trying to keep sealed.

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

A spokesman for Edison declined to comment on the investigation and the documents that were withheld, saying only that Edison has cooperated with the Department of Forestry.

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

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

The October 1996 fire, 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 dousing the flames. The fire 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 remove anything from around the utility pole where the fire 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 raid began Monday and continued until Tuesday evening. Armed with a seven-page, single-spaced search warrant, the officers searched Edison field offices in Westminster, Thousand Oaks and Victorville and at the company’s headquarters in Rosemead.

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 eastbound Ventura Freeway near Calabasas and Mureau roads.

At the Rosemead headquarters, lawyers for Edison halted investigators from seizing about 200 pages of documents, contending 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 the law enforcement officials and the target of a search warrant to ensure that privileged information is protected.

Davis said he reviewed the 200 pages that Edison lawyers sought to protect and determined that they should temporarily be sealed until Pounders makes a final determination.

Davis said most of the information on the 200 pages related to Edison’s position on regulations and policies for tree trimming and vegetation clearance, he said.

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

Among the 200 pages were about 50 pages discussing Edison’s own investigation of the fire, including statements from several witnesses, as well as electronic mail between Edison officials, Davis said.

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

But Davis, a 15-year attorney who specializes in defending law enforcement officers, said it is not uncommon for lawyers to try to keep their client’s documents out of the hands of law enforcement officials by claiming it contains privileged information.

“You would be drummed out of the law profession if you didn’t claim privileged information,” he said.

Edison attorneys did not specify why the material was privileged, but Davis said they are not required to make a specific argument until the matter comes before Pounders.

But Davis said Edison could argue that the 200 pages of information is privileged because it is communications between Edison and its attorneys or because it is a “work product” document that contains information gathered by Edison attorney’s that could hurt Edison’s position on the case.

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

She said investigators are trying to determine if Edison can be charged with recklessly causing a fire that causes 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.

* POLE FAULT: Dispute centers on a charred utility pole. A12