A video offers new evidence suggesting the massive Eaton fire may have been ignited at a Southern California Edison transmission tower just moments after flashes of blue and white light flared near the electrical equipment.
Over the last few weeks, residents who live near the line have shared videos and photos of large flames at the base of the tower in Eaton Canyon just as the fire was getting started after 6 p.m. on Jan. 7.
Those residents told The Times they were convinced that is how the fire — which killed 17 people and destroyed more than 9,000 structures — was sparked.
On Sunday, one of the law firms suing Edison, Edelson PC, released an edited video they said appears to show blue arcing in the canyon.
The video, taken less than a mile from the suspected ignition point of the fire, shows the strong winds whipping through the area, and in the distance light flashing on the dark hillside. The lights flash suddenly. Attorneys for Edelson PC, allege the video shows arcing, and sparks falling onto the dry hillside.
A few minutes after the flashes of light, the hillside begins to burn.
A spokesperson for Edison did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding this new video.
Edison officials have said they do not believe their electrical equipment was responsible for the fire, and that early inspections of the equipment showed no signs of arcing or power anomalies.
Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have declined to comment on their probe. But a Cal Fire investigator told The Times on Jan. 11 that the area around the transmission line was closed off because of investigation “into the start of the Eaton fire.”
An official cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
The attorney said the video, which was first reported earlier Sunday by the New York Times, adds to the evidence pointing to the transmission tower.
“This is the clearest and most damning evidence yet — real-time video from a gas station security camera showing Southern California Edison’s power lines igniting the fire,” said Jay Edelson, founder of the law firm Edelson PC, in a statement. “It’s only by sheer luck this footage exists.”
The Eaton fire was fueled by intense winds that pushed flames from Eaton Canyon west into neighborhoods across Altadena, flattening larger swaths of the community.
In a statement, Edison had previously said that distribution lines immediately west of Eaton Canyon were de-energized well before the fire started. However, the utility company also has transmission lines on the east side of the canyon that remained powered.
The CEO of Southern California Edison told The Times earlier this month that winds were not strong enough to merit de-energizing a powerful electrical transmission line. Steven Powell said that, typically, winds would have to be 60 to 80 mph for the company to consider the de-energization of transmission lines, adding that the readings Edison saw were lower than that.
The National Weather Service recorded wind gusts just before the fire started of 59 mph at Edison’s Eaton Canyon monitoring site, which is south of the transmission line at the end of Eaton Canyon Park. Higher gusts were recorded at that site before and afterward, according to weather service data: 63 mph at 2:20 p.m. and 70 mph at 9:30 p.m. It’s unclear what the wind readings were at the tower, which is in the hills of the canyon.
Last week, Edison notified attorneys suing the company that an encampment was found about 300 yards downhill from the suspected ignition point. Attorneys suing the company told The Times that the distance from the suspected ignition point made that an unlikely cause for the fire.
At least 20 lawsuits have been filed against the utility company, accusing it of sparking the fire that has burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed 9,418 structures and killed 17 people.
With thousands of homes destroyed, the cost of the recent fires is believed to be in the billions, raising the stakes as fire officials, Edison, attorneys and residents look to find out what sparked the blaze.
Much of the cost could be absorbed by the state’s Wildfire Fund, but could prove to still be costly if it was sparked by the utility’s electrical equipment.
Attorneys suing the company have asked a judge to order the company to preserve data and equipment. Last week, a judge approved a temporary restraining order, telling Edison to preserve evidence and equipment near the suspected origin of the fire, and in a 1-square mile area in eastern Altadena.
Edison attorneys opposed the motion in court filings, arguing there was no need for an order because the company had already been preserving evidence and equipment. Edison was also documenting repairs and equipment replacement in a “preservation zone” with photos and videos.
Attorneys suing the company said they have asked Edison to lower the wires from the transmission towers over Eaton Canyon.
Alexander Robertson, whose firm Robertson & Associates has filed suit against Edison, said his firm has requested to inspect the wires because the aluminum strands can be examined for damage, pointing to arcing.
Robertson said Edison attorneys told him arrangements to lower the wires could take months, which he called “unacceptable.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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