Woolsey Fire, 2018
The Woolsey Fire started south of Simi Valley on November 8, 2018, when high winds pushed a loose guy wire into energized Southern California Edison (SCE) conductors. It burned 96,949 acres, destroyed 1,643 structures and killed three people, and more than 295,000 people were evacuated.
- Where
- Ventura and Los Angeles counties, starting south of Simi Valley
- Utility
- SCE
- Record
- Found by investigators
- Started on
- Distribution line
- Acres burned
- 96,949
Sources: CAL FIRE; California Attorney General
- Days to containment
- 13 to 57
- Structures destroyed
- 1,643
Sources: CAL FIRE; California Attorney General
- Deaths
- 3
Sources: CAL FIRE; California Attorney General
Found by investigators
The agency that investigated the fire found that the utility's equipment started it.
CAL FIRE and the Ventura County Fire Department found that electrical and communication equipment owned by SCE caused the fire, as the state Department of Justice recounted when it closed its criminal investigation in 2021.
Sources: California Attorney General; California Public Utilities Commission
Distribution line
A lower-voltage line that carries power along streets and roads to homes and businesses.
SCE's 16 kV Big Rock distribution circuit. The wire that arced was a guy wire on a pole that also carried a 66 kV transmission circuit.
What happened
- Started
November 8, 2018. SCE's Big Rock circuit locked out at 2:22 p.m., and the Ventura County Fire Department was notified of the fire at 2:24 p.m.
- Contained
100 percent contained on November 21, 2018, by the CPUC staff's report. CAL FIRE's incident page lists January 4, 2019, 57 days after the start.
- Buildings
1,643 structures destroyed and 364 damaged.
Source: CAL FIRE
- Deaths
Three people were killed. SCE notes that four more deaths are alleged to be associated with the fire.
Sources: California Attorney General; Edison International and SCE, filed with the SEC
- Evacuations
More than 295,000 people.
Sources: California Attorney General; California Public Utilities Commission
The cause
- What failed
High winds pushed a loose guy wire into energized conductors on a steel pole, and the arcing started the first ignition. SCE's poor vegetation control near its communication lines contributed to a second ignition.
Sources: California Attorney General; California Public Utilities Commission
- Rule violations
The CPUC's safety staff found 26 violations of Commission rules by SCE.
- Criminal case
The state Department of Justice closed its investigation in August 2021, finding insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution.
Source: California Attorney General
- What SCE says
SCE has not admitted wrongdoing or liability in any of its settlements over the fire.
What it cost
- Property damage
About $6 billion, as estimated in the CPUC staff's report.
- Paid to insurers
$2.2 billion, under a January 2021 settlement with the insurers.
- Charged to customers
In December 2025 the CPUC approved a settlement letting SCE recover about $2.0 billion of about $5.6 billion in Woolsey losses through electric rates.
- Insured losses
Up to $11.4 billion for the November 2018 wildfires, the Camp and Woolsey fires together. The Department of Insurance does not break out Woolsey.
- Some figures cover four events
SCE reports some costs for the Thomas, Koenigstein and Woolsey fires and the Montecito mudslides together, as its "2017/2018 Wildfire/Mudslide Events". The rows below say which.
- Paid to public agencies (all four)
$360 million in 2019, under SCE's settlements with local public entities.
- People who sued (all four)
SCE had settled with about 13,800 individual plaintiffs by July 23, 2026.
- CPUC penalty (all four, and three other 2017 fires)
$550 million under an October 2021 agreement with the CPUC's safety staff: a $110 million fine to the state's General Fund, $65 million of shareholder-funded safety measures, and SCE giving up the right to charge customers for $125 million and $250 million of uninsured claims payments. SCE did not admit imprudence, negligence or liability.
Not published
We looked for these and found no source that publishes them:
- When evacuation orders were lifted
- How many households never returned
- Insured losses for this fire alone