California wildfire fund may shield Edison balance sheet from fire risk, company says

Feb 27 (Reuters) - California's wildfire fund may shield Edison International's balance sheet if equipment owned by the power company's southern California electric utility is found to have caused a deadly Los Angeles fire last month, executives with the company said on Thursday.

Southern California Edison, which is one of the state's largest power utilities, is facing a swelling number of lawsuits claiming its power lines caused the Eaton Fire, which contributed to one the country's most costly natural disasters.

While no official cause for the fire has been determined, SCE will likely begin burying more lines underground as a wildfire mitigation effort, Edison executives said on a conference call with investors.