The L.A.-area fires may pose the first big test of California’s wildfire fund, which was set up in 2019 to protect utilities from bankruptcy.

Two lawsuits filed Monday against Southern California Edison allege the utility failed to de-energize its power equipment and clear brush where a blaze sparked near Pasadena, one in a cascade of wildfires currently burning in the Los Angeles area ...

Altadena residents said in separate lawsuits that the utility’s electrical equipment had sparked the fire, which grew to consume 14,000 acres.