New video evidence appears to show the devastating Eaton Fire, which destroyed most of Altadena and parts of northern Pasadena, may have originated with Southern California Edison (SCE) transmission towers in the San Gabriel Mountains.
The Eaton Fire destroyed nearly 9,500 structures, displacing thousands of people, causing an estimated $10 billion in loses while severely damaging the local economy.
Since the fire erupted on January 7, lawsuits have been filed against SCE in an attempt hold the company liable for allegedly failing to shut off the power grid despite heavy winds approaching 100mph. While SCE maintains it followed procedure, residents and eye-witnesses have claimed they saw intense flashes of light near the Eaton Canyon transformer towers before noticing a fire at the base of the towers shortly thereafter.
New video evidence from surveillance footage appears to support these claims. Per the New York Times:
A video recorded by a surveillance camera at a gas station less than a mile south of the towers appears to provide an important new clue: Supporting what the residents saw, it shows flashes of light at 6:11 p.m. in the vicinity of three high-voltage electrical towers in Eaton Canyon, and then flames moments later.
The location of the flashes, verified by The New York Times through photographs and videos captured from the same vantage point as the original surveillance footage, could help determine whether power lines played a role in igniting the deadliest of several blazes that are still burning across the Los Angeles area.
Max Belin, whose house has a view of the electrical towers, was the neighbor who saw the flash of light, followed by a small blaze at the tower’s base. Brendan Thorn, the other neighbor, said that when he first saw the fire, it “completely engulfed all four legs of the tower.”
The fire broke out after winds in the area had exceeded 68 miles per hour, which, per Edison guidelines, means engineers should have considered shutting off the power.
“It requires analysis,” Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokeswoman for SCE, told the Times. “This is an ongoing investigation and every piece of information is crucial. We are fully cooperating with the investigation and are committed to a thorough process.”
A Southern California Edison Co. electrical transmission tower in Eaton Canyon, under investigation as the possible point of ignition of the Eaton Fire, in Pasadena, California, US, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. Three lawsuits cite the utility’s alleged failure to de-energize all electrical equipment in Eaton Canyon, the northern LA locale where the deadly Eaton Fire is believed to have started Jan. 7. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty)
Edison previously claimed that no evidence supports the claim that the fire originated with the company’s transmission towers, suggesting that it could have originated from a nearby homeless encampment similar to the Kinneloa Fire of 1993.
“We’re not seeing any electrical anomaly until more than an hour after the reported start time of the fire,” Pedro Pizarro, the president and chief executive of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison. “And we don’t see any anomaly until an hour, over an hour” after the blaze began.
Several residents have already filed a lawsuit against SCE, claiming that the company put profits over the safety of its customers in the area.
“The cause of the Eaton Fire is still being investigated, but lawyers for Singleton Schreiber allege in the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs that it may have begun when Edison’s electrical equipment contacted or caused sparks to contact surrounding vegetation,” reported Axios.
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“Defendants deliberately prioritized profits over safety. This recklessness and conscious disregard for human safety was a substantial factor in bringing about the Eaton Fire,” said the complaint.
