Lawsuit blames San Diego Gas & Electric equipment for fire that destroyed Orange County homes

A woman whose home was damaged in an Orange County fire last week has filed a lawsuit blaming San Diego Gas & Electric equipment for starting the blaze.

The suit contends the fire erupted near an SDG&E distribution line at Portico Del Norte and Eminencia Del Norte in San Clemente.

In a statement, SDG&E officials acknowledged that the company’s distribution line experienced an outage around the time the Norte Fire began Friday morning. But the company insisted there is no basis for blaming the utility’s equipment for the fire.

Firefighters in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano had the Norte Fire 90% contained Tuesday and will continue encircling the 570-acre blaze that destroyed homes and prompted evacuations.

Containment has increased to 90%,” according to the Orange County Fire Authority. “Firefighters are patrolling the fire perimeter, checking for remaining heat and securing containment lines.”