A new lawsuit places blame for the Woolsey Fire on SoCal Edison. Beverly White reports for NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2018.
Attorneys for Woolsey Fire victims in a lawsuit against Southern California Edison held a town hall Friday night in Westlake Village, and survivors of the Southern California wildfire that took three lives and destroyed over a thousand structures came to listen and speak.
"We'd just finished building it four months ago," Michael Weisberg says about his home. "We just finished hanging the art the week before, and then, literally two weeks ago today on Nov. 9, I looked out, saw the flames, told my wife we got 10 minutes to get out."
Weisberg's security system shows the view before the power went out and the Woolsey Fire overran his family home in Malibu.
With their home incinerated, the Weisbergs now live in a hotel, and a friend set up a GoFundMe to help the family.
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Friday night, however, the Weisbergs were in Westlake Village hearing from attorneys who say they'll navigate insurance and even go to court to make fire victims whole again.
"This is not a class action," attorney Patrick McNichols says. "It's a mass action. By 'mass action,' we mean each and every one of you have an individual case that's individual to you."
Attorney Richard Bridgford says, "We believe and have alleged in our complaint that SoCal Edison is the primary target defendant and responsible for the fires."
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Together in a hotel ballroom, WoolseyFire victims and their hosts acknowledge a long, arduous road ahead. Despite profound losses and an uncertain future Woolsey Fire survivors say there's power in staying connected while not looking back.
"It's amazing," Ben Weisberg says. "The kindness of everyone in the community. It's truly healing."
Michael Weisberg says, "It'll make me crumble if I think about the past, so going forward and thinking about rebuilding, starting our lives, moving forward."
He adds, "Lives can't be replaced."
