A law firm suing Southern California Edison obtained a newly released video that it says appears show electrical arcs and sparking on the night of Jan. 7 at the origin of the deadly Eaton Fire in Altadena.
The security camera video from a Pasadena gas station was obtained by Edelson PC over the weekend. The law firm provided an edited version of the video, claiming it shows arcing in the canyon where the fire started in a Santa Ana windstorm before it destroyed homes and businesses in the community northeast of Los Angeles.
The gas station video also shows tree branches and traffic light signs blowing in the powerful wind gusts that fanned the Eaton Fire. In the upper right corner of the video, a light can be seen flashing in the darkness.
A few minutes later, the orange glow of flames appears in the distance.
The manager and general manager of the gas station in Pasadena told NBCLA they released the video in a effort to answer lingering questions about the start of one of the most destructive and deadliest fires on record in California.
The Eaton Fire started at about 6:18 p.m. near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive, according to Cal Fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Cal Fire said.
NBCLA reached out to SoCal Edison for comment on the latest video, one of several released in the days and weeks after the fire that appeared to show the first flames in Eaton Canyon near utility infrastructure.
A spokesperson for SoCal Edison told the Los Angeles Times that the company received the video Saturday.
“It’s premature to comment or for anyone to draw conclusions until experts can fully review the video,” Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokesperson for Edison, told the Times, adding that company officials reached out to investigators to make sure they had the video.
Edison officials have said they do not believe their equipment started the fire.
At a court hearing Monday, Edelson PC asked a judge to preserve physical evidence in the investigation into the fire’s origins.
SoCal Edison insisted in court that Pasadena Water and Power also owns high-voltage lines in the area.
“SCE’s distribution lines immediately to the west of Eaton Canyon were de-energized well before the reported start time of the fire, as part of SCE’s Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program,” the company said in an earlier statement. “SCE is currently conducting a review of the event.”
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