LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California utility has agreed to pay the federal government $82.5 million stemming from an enormous 2020 wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert, officials said Friday.
The U.S. Justice Department announced the payment by Southern California Edison on Thursday. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement that the settlement provides “meaningful compensation to taxpayers for the extensive costs of fighting the … fire and for the widespread damage to public lands.”
Edison agreed to pay the settlement within 60 days of its effective date, May 14, without admitting wrongdoing or fault, prosecutors said…