The utility company under investigation for causing the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history chose not to de-energize their transmission lines because the wind force fell just below threshold.
Southern California Edison will typically consider de-energizing transmission lines if wind speeds between 60 and 80 mph are recorded.
On the day the Eaton Fire broke out in the mountains near Altadena and Pasadena, the National Weather Service had recorded wind gusts of 60 mph at Edison’s Eaton Canyon monitoring site — just a mile below the threshold.
Now SoCal Edison is facing several lawsuits from devastated homeowners who lost everything in the fire, which scorched 14,000 acres, destroyed an estimated 7,000 buildings and killed 16 people.
The Eaton fire coincided with another inferno that swept through the upscale celebrity enclave of Pacific Palisades and along the coast of Malibu. That fire destroyed 23,713 hectares of prime real estate and at least nine people died.
CEO Steven Powell said this to the newspaper LA times Internal data showed that there were no abnormalities with the equipment in the twelve hours prior to the fire.
A spokesperson had previously said in a statement that the electrical equipment was unlikely to have caused the Eaton fire, but extraordinary time-stamped footage appears to show the fire first rising through a series of power lines.
Powell is aware of the images on social media, which are cited in several lawsuits.
SoCal Edison is facing several lawsuits from devastated homeowners who lost everything in the fire, which scorched 14,000 acres, destroyed an estimated 7,000 buildings and killed 16 people.
Malibu’s coast was scorched during the Palisades fire
Southern California Edison will typically consider de-energizing transmission lines if wind speeds between 60 and 80 mph are recorded
Energy company Edison International is being sued over a possible connection to one of the wildfires currently raging through Los Angeles
He said he understands why people see the disastrous vision and assume Edison’s equipment is to blame.
“My heart sank because you see that, and you immediately, you know, anyone’s mind would do that if they saw that this was the beginning stages of the fire,” he said.
‘You can’t see anything else around you, your mind will wander [to thinking it was caused by Edison electrical equipment] absolute.’
But authorities have not yet determined a cause for the fire.
Officials have called for patience as they work through the smoldering wreckage of fire-ravaged communities, but frustration is growing as residents demand to return home and survey the damage themselves.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said he “understands the frustration people are feeling.”
He added: “They have basically been kept away from their home, where everything they have is located, if it is still standing, and they are no longer allowed to go in and access it. I would ask for their patience because it is a situation where it is not just a decision that needs to be made, like flipping a switch. A lot of things are happening right now.”
Authorities have also warned that the scorched communities are now full of asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris amid the carnage.
It is believed that the Eaton fire alone razed approximately 7,000 structures
Homes in Altadena and Pasadena were destroyed by the Eaton fire
Authorities are now searching the toxic rubble for human remains
A Bank of America was burned as the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena
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Officials warned that the ash could contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.
Anish Mahajan of the LA County Public Health Department said Tuesday, “Ashes aren’t just dirt.”
‘It is dangerous particulate matter that can irritate or damage your airways and other parts of your body where it ends up.’
Anyone accessing fire-ravaged communities is urged to wear masks to avoid inhaling the ash.
As access to these communities becomes easier, authorities are also deploying cadaver dogs to search for human remains in the rubble.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reminded impatient residents, “There are people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.”
The $25 billion utility said it had discovered a downed conductor in a tower near where a smaller fire broke out Tuesday after an intense storm in Santa Ana.
However, Edison said it does not know if the damage occurred before or after the fire.
National Guard soldiers stand at a checkpoint on Sunset Boulevard, with burned homes in the background due to the Palisades Fire
Officials warned that the ash could contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials
The $25 billion utility said it had discovered a downed conductor in a tower near where a smaller fire broke out Tuesday after an intense storm in Santa Ana.
The $25 billion company said it had discovered a downed conductor at a tower. (Image: Pedro J. Pizarro, CEO of Edison International, tours a fuel storage facility in California with U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Representative Mike Levin in 2022)
The legal action filed Monday in LA County Superior Court could be the first of hundreds — if not thousands — of claims arising from the wildfires that have engulfed much of Southern California over the past week.
Officials have repeatedly said they are investigating the cause of the fires but have not yet revealed any official theories.
The lawsuits were filed on behalf of homeowners, renters, business owners and others with properties destroyed by the Eaton Fire in the Pasadena and Altadena area.
At least 25 people have died since several fires started last Tuesday, of which more than twenty are still missing.
The Eaton Fire in the foothills east of Los Angeles has scorched more than 14,000 acres, nearly the size of Manhattan.
After more than a week of high winds and life-threatening conditions, firefighters will get a much-needed reprieve this weekend to get the fires under control.
“Good news: We expect to provide a much-needed break from fire service concerns this week,” the weather service posted on social media Wednesday afternoon.
“Bad news: Next week is a concern. While we are confident we will NOT see a repeat of last week, hazardous fire conditions are expected.”
A firefighting helicopter drops water during the Palisades fire
LA officials, already criticized for hydrants running dry, faced even more questions. Fire officials opted not to double the number of firefighters on duty last Tuesday as winds increased and only five of more than 40 engines were deployed.
The department also only called in off-duty firefighters after the Palisades Fire broke out.
The lawsuits cited eyewitness accounts and footage that appeared to show a fire at the base of a transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison (SCE) before powerful Santa Ana wind gusts quickly spread the flames.
Witnesses shared videos on social media of a fire at the base of a cell tower, which reportedly occurred shortly after the Eaton fire started.
Altadena resident Marcus Errico had previously told CNN he saw the very first flames of the Eaton fire at the base of a cell tower.
“I could see right across from us on the hill in Eaton Canyon a series of transformer towers with power lines stretching into the mountains. And at the base of one of them there was just a small ring of flame around the entire base.” he said.
“I can’t say with certainty that the power lines were the cause, but I can say with certainty that the first fire in Pasadena and Altadena – Eaton Canyon is right on the edge of Altadena and Pasadena – that’s where the fire started.
‘It was under that tower on Tuesday evening. It was…it started as a small fire underneath and within ten minutes the whole hill was engulfed by the fire.”
It comes as speculation swirls about what could have caused the worst cluster of wildfires ever seen in the United States, and Los Angelinos, who have lost everything, demand answers
One lawsuit also referenced Brendan Thorn, who was interviewed by local ABC News. Thorn said in the interview that he lives near Eaton Canyon and saw “knee-high” fires around cell towers shortly after the fire started.
Some lawsuits cite data from electrical monitoring company Whisker Lab showing that the area’s electrical grid experienced multiple potentially spark-causing grid disruptions in the lead-up to the fire.
SoCal Edison filed safety incident reports on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 for the Eaton and Hurst fires, respectively.
The utility said it has received notices from insurance companies to preserve evidence related to the Eaton fire, adding that the fire could be due to its utilities.
It also added that no fire brigade organization had suggested that the electricity supplies were involved in the start of the fires.