Southern California Edison started work this week to prepare an idle power transmission line for removal from the area where the deadly Eaton Fire started and rapidly spread in a powerful windstorm in January.
The prep work and removal are further steps in the investigation to determine how the second-most destructive wildfire on record in California started in San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles. The equipment could provide clues to help pinpoint the cause, which has not been determined.
On Tuesday, work began to remove conductors and power lines before disassembly of two towers. Linemen were lowered into the rugged area from a helicopter to spool conductors ahead of the towers’ removal, planned for next week. Helicopters will be used for the removal.
The Mesa-Sylmar line, idled for decades, is being analyzed as part of the investigation into how the Eaton Fire started Jan. 7 before spreading into Altadena and burning homes and businesses. Edison raised the possibility in a February regulatory filing that the tower or circuit might have become momentarily energized through a phenomenon called induction.
Investigators are trying to determine whether a “decommissioned” power line in the Angeles National Forest became momentarily energized. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 17, 2025.
Video, including cellphone video that appears to show the first flames growing from an area directly beneath one of the towers, is part of the investigation. Several videos came to light in the days and weeks after the fire that appeared to show the first flames in Eaton Canyon near utility infrastructure.
In a statement issued Tuesday, SoCal Edison said, “As we noted in our Feb. 6 filing with the California Public Utilities Commission, while certain information and third-party videos from the early stages of the fire have emerged suggesting a possible connection to Southern California Edison’s equipment, SCE has not identified physical evidence in the preliminary origin area—such as broken conductors, arc marks or faults on the energized lines—that would support that association.”
In a February statement, Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of SCE’s parent company, Edison International, said, “While we do not yet know what caused the Eaton wildfire, SCE is exploring every possibility in its investigation, including the possibility that SCE’s equipment was involved. We have been fully engaged since the start of the fires in supporting the broader emergency response, containment, recovery and investigation efforts.”
Separate state and county investigations also are underway.
In March, Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison over the Eaton Fire. The lawsuit, which names SoCal Edison and Edison International, seeks to recover costs and damages from the fire.
The Eaton Fire, one of several that broke out Jan. 7 and spread rapidly in strong winds, destroyed 9,400 structures and resulted in 18 deaths, according to CalFire. County parks, a nature center, trails and other community infrastructure were damaged in the 14,000-acre fire, according to a news release from the county announcing the lawsuit.
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