Electricity supply company ordered to pay compensation after power line sparks Malaga wildfire
The provincial court of Malaga ruled that the distribution company was responsible for fire that started due to a cable rubbing against a fig tree
The Spanish electricity distribution company E-distribución Redes Digitales (formerly Endesa) has been ordered to pay 107,721 euros, plus interest, to the owners of a farm in Moclinejo in Malaga province which was damaged in a fire caused by "defective maintenance of the power line" and "negligence".
The sentence has been passed by the provincial court in Malaga, which has upheld the appeal lodged against the Vélez-Málaga court ruling from March 2023. The defendant has therefore been declared liable for the fire on 29 August 2020.
According to the final decision, the fire was caused by a sagging cable that came into contact with a fig tree, which produced an electric arc capable of generating incandescent material. When this hot material touched the dry vegetation, it ignited and led to the spread of the fire. The flames damaged avocado and other fruit trees, olive, carob, almond and holm oak trees, as well as irrigation pipes.
The ruling states that the fire was caused by a sagging cable that came into contact with a fig tree, producing an electric arc capable of generating incandescent material
According to the plaintiffs' lawyer, "the electrical origin of the fire is supported by a wealth of evidence: an official, impartial and specialised expert report, witness statements corroborating the report and the physical evidence of the rubbing of the fig tree against the wires". In addition, the provincial court ruling states that "the rubbing of the trees against the power line reveals a defective maintenance of the power line" and "negligence on the part of the defendant".
Maintenance and control
"It is the electricity company that must carry out maintenance and checks to ensure the safety of its installations," the ruling says, adding that the company should also carry out work "to prevent damage to third parties".
A report by the forest fire investigation brigade "clearly concludes that the origin of the fire was an 'electric arc due to contact with vegetation' due to 'deficiencies in its maintenance'".
The investigators analysed photos taken by firefighting helicopters, which showed that the area next to the power line had been 'burnt'
The brigade assessed photographs taken by firefighting helicopters, which showed that the area next to the power line had already been "burnt" by the time the flames spread to the stream and the hillside. This helped them determine the root - an area around a "pole with a cable with little tension", which reached the fig tree.
The court initially dismissed the claim and acquitted the defendant based on the report provided by the company, which states that "the fire originated in a badly extinguished bonfire and not due to deficiencies in the low-voltage line". In the appeal, it was argued, among other things, that the court had not applied the legal principle of 'qualified probability'.
The ruling can still be appealed before the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA).
