The utility company under investigation for sparking the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history opted against de-energizing their transmission lines because the strength of the wind fell just shy of the threshold.
Southern California Edison will typically consider de-energizing transmission lines if wind speeds of between 60mph and 80mph 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 59mph at Edison’s Eaton Canyon monitoring site – just one mile per hour short of the threshold.
Now, SoCal Edison is facing several lawsuits from devastated homeowners who lost everything in the blaze, which has scorched 14,000 acres, destroyed an estimated 7,000 structures and left 16 people dead.
The Eaton fire coincided with another inferno which swept through the ritzy celebrity enclave of Pacific Palisades and up the coast of Malibu. That fire destroyed 23,713 acres of prime real estate and at least nine people have perished.
Chief Executive Steven Powell told the LA Times that internal data showed there were no abnormalities with equipment in the 12 hours preceding the fire.
A spokesperson had earlier said in a statement its electrical equipment was unlikely to have caused the Eaton fire, but extraordinary timestamped footage appears to show the blaze first taking off from a set of power lines.
Powell is aware of the footage on social media, which is cited in several of the lawsuits.
SoCal Edison is facing several lawsuits from devastated homeowners who lost everything in the blaze, which has scorched 14,000 acres, destroyed an estimated 7,000 structures and left 16 people dead
The coast of Malibu was scorched during the Palisades fire
Southern California Edison will typically consider de-energizing transmission lines if wind speeds of between 60mph and 80mph are recorded
Energy company Edison International is being sued over a possible link to one of the wildfires currently tearing through Los Angeles
He said he understands why people would see the disastrous vision and assume Edison’s equipment is to blame.
‘My heart sank because you see that, and immediately you have to, you know, anybody’s mind would if they saw that was the beginning stages of the fire,’ he said.
‘You can’t see anything else around, your mind will go [to thinking it was caused by Edison electrical equipment] absolutely.’
But authorities have not yet established a cause for the blaze.
Officials have called for patience as it works through the smoldering wreckages 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’ve been basically kept away from their home, where everything they have is, if it’s still standing, and they’re not allowed to go back in and access that. I would ask for their patience because it’s a situation where it’s not just a decision to be made, like the flip of a switch. A lot of things are happening right now.’
Authorities have also warned scorched communities are now rife with asbestos-filled ash and dangerous debris in amongst the carnage.
Some 7,000 structures are believed to have been razed in the Eaton fire alone
Homes in Altadena and Pasadena were destroyed in 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 the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials.
Anish Mahajan of the LA County Public Health Department said on Tuesday: ‘Ash is not just dirt.’
‘It’s hazardous fine dust that can irritate or harm your respiratory system and other parts of your body where it lands.’
Anyone with access to fire-ravaged communities are urged to wear masks to avoid inhaling the ash.
As access to these communities becomes easier, authorities are also bringing in cadaver dogs to search for human remains in the rubble.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna reminded impatient residents: ‘We have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.’
The $25 billion utility firm said it discovered a downed conductor at a tower close to where a smaller fire broke out on Tuesday following an intense Santa Ana windstorm.
However, Edison said it doesn’t know whether the damage happened before or after the fire.
National Guard soldiers stand at a check point on Sunset Boulevard with burned homes from the Palisades Fire seen in the background
Officials warned the ash can contain lead, arsenic, asbestos and other harmful materials
The $25 billion utility firm said it discovered a downed conductor at a tower close to where a smaller fire broke out on Tuesday following an intense Santa Ana windstorm
The $25 billion firm said it discovered a downed conductor at a tower. (Pictured: Edison International CEO Pedro J. Pizarro taking a tour of a fuel storage installation in California with the U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and U.S. Rep. Mike Levin in 2022)
The legal action launched in LA County Superior Court on Monday could be the first of hundreds – if not thousands – of claims arising from the wildfires which have engulfed huge swathes of Southern California in the past week.
Officials have repeatedly said they’re 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 multiple fires began last Tuesday, with more than two dozen 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 intense winds and life threatening conditions, fire crews will get some much needed reprieve this weekend to get on top of the fires.
‘Good news: We are expecting a much-needed break from the fire weather concerns to close this week,’ the weather service posted on social media Wednesday afternoon.
‘Bad News: Next week is a concern. While confident that we will NOT see a repeat of last week, dangerous fire weather conditions are expected.’
A fire fighting helicopter drops water during the Palisades fire
LA officials, who already were criticized for hydrants running dry, faced more questions. Fire officials chose 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 did not call in off-duty firefighters until after the Palisades Fire erupted.
The suits cited eyewitness accounts and images 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 transmission tower allegedly taken shortly after the start of the Eaton Fire.
Altadena resident Marcus Errico had earlier told CNN he saw the very first flames of the Eaton fire at the base of a transmission tower.
‘I could see right across from us on the hillside in Eaton Canyon, there are a series of transformer towers with power lines stretching up into the mountains. And at the base of one, there was just a small ring of flames around the whole base.’ he said.
‘I can’t say definitively that it was the power lines that caused it, but I can say definitively that the first fire in Pasadena and Altadena – Eaton Canyon is right on the edge of Altadena and Pasadena – that’s where the fire began.
‘It was under that tower on Tuesday night. It was – it began as a small little blaze underneath and within 10 minutes, the whole hillside was engulfed in 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 are demanding answers
One lawsuit also referred to 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 transmission towers shortly after the fire began.
Some of the lawsuits cite data from electrical monitoring company Whisker Lab indicating that the power grid in the area experienced multiple potentially spark-causing grid disruptions leading up to the blaze.
SoCal Edison, on Jan. 9 and 10, filed safety incident reports on the Eaton and Hurst fires, respectively.
The utility company said it has received notices from insurance companies to preserve evidence related to the Eaton Fire, adding the fire could allegedly be attributable to its utility facilities.
It also added that no fire agency had suggested its electric facilities were involved in the ignition of the fires.
