A Los Angeles judge ordered Southern California Edison to preserve evidence as the utility has brought in Hueston Hennigan, a California defense firm with expertise in wildfire defense, to deal with a growing number of lawsuits brought over this month’s Eaton fire in Southern California.

Hueston Hennigan partners Douglas Dixon, in Newport Beach, and Brittani Jackson, in Los Angeles, appeared at a Tuesday hearing after which a judge ordered SoCal Edison and its parent company, Edison International, to preserve specific evidence that plaintiffs lawyers claim could show the utility’s negligence sparked the Eaton fire, which destroyed more than 7,000 structures and killed 17 people in Altadena, an unincorporated Los Angeles County region north of Pasadena. The order granted a motion brought by Edelson, which filed a lawsuit on Jan. 13, to prevent Edison from destroying evidence as it cleans up debris and returns power to existing homes.