Video adds to scrutiny of Edison tower as possible site of origin of Eaton fire

A video offers new evidence suggesting the massive Eaton fire may have 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 tower have shared videos and photos of large flames at the base of the structure in Eaton Canyon just as the fire was getting started after 6 p.m. on Jan. 7.

Those residents told The Times that they were convinced this was 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 it 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 allege that 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 said the company received the video Saturday night and that an investigation into all evidence must be completed before a cause of the fire could be determined.

“It’s premature to comment or for anyone to draw conclusions until experts can fully review the video,” said Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokesperson for Edison.

On Saturday, Edison officials reached out to investigators to make sure they had the video, she said.

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.

“No one knows what caused the Eaton fire,” Dunleavy said.

Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection who are working to determine the cause of the blaze have declined to comment on their inquiry. 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.”

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,” Jay Edelson, founder of the law firm, said 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 previously had 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 chief executive of Southern California Edison told The Times 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.

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 still prove costly for Edison if the fire 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 that there was no need for an order because the company had been preserving evidence and equipment. Edison said it also was documenting repairs and equipment replacement in a “preservation zone” with photos and videos.

Attorneys suing the company said they had asked Edison to lower the wires from the transmission towers over Eaton Canyon.

Alexander Robertson, whose firm Robertson & Associates has filed a suit against Edison, said his firm requested to inspect the wires because the aluminum strands could 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.”