Attorneys: Videos show SoCal Edison lines sparked Eaton Fire

Attorneys who claim malfunctioning Southern California Edison equipment caused the deadly, destructive Eaton Fire on Monday released video they believe shows sparks from Edison power lines igniting the blaze.

The wildfire broke out during a Jan. 7 windstorm and has destroyed or damaged over 10,000 of structures and left at least 17 people dead.

A series of lawsuits have been filed against Edison, alleging the utility’s equipment was responsible for the inferno.

Officials were investigating the cause of the fire.

Edison representatives have withheld comment pending the investigation’s outcome, except for saying when the first lawsuits were filed Jan. 13, “Our hearts remain with our communities during the devastating fires in Southern California, and we remain committed to supporting them through this difficult time.”

On Saturday afternoon, attorneys from the Edelson law firm posted on social media a surveillance video sourced from an Altadena gas station that, according to the firm, shows an arc event on SCE power lines during the windstorm followed by sparks subsequently falling to the ground. Within minutes, flames erupting on the hillside below the lines are visible.

SCE spokesman David Eisenhauer told City News Service, “That video requires thorough analysis, and it would be irresponsible for anyone to comment on the footage until it has gone through expert review.”

Fire investigators have been seen working in the area of the SCE transmission lines, according to published reports. 

The utility has reported that transmission lines on the east side of Eaton Canyon were energized the night of Jan. 7 when the fire started, while distribution lines on the west side were shut off. Edison CEO Steven Powell told the Los Angeles Times that the winds were not considered strong enough to necessitate cutting power to the transmission lines.

SCE has denied that the utility’s equipment or infrastructure caused the wildfire. SCE has also posited that a nearby campfire may have led to the disaster. However, in a letter Monday to the California Public Utilities Commission, the company acknowledged there was a fault detected on its transmission line at 6:11 p.m. on Jan. 7, the night the fire erupted in Eaton Canyon.

Edelson attorneys were in court in Glendale on Monday, where a judge extended an order for SCE to preserve possible evidence.

“The court’s order expands its earlier preservation order to ensure that the six-mile span of lines running away from that tower, as well as other physical evidence that might show why that tower went up, is preserved,” Edelson attorney Ali Moghaddas said in a statement.

Also Monday, attorneys and advocates with LA Fire Justice held a news briefing in Pasadena to present their claims that SCE equipment sparked the fire. 

“I also want to make sure you understand that we want these folks to have their voices heard loud and clear, and that message is, when a utility fails to invest in its infrastructure, fails to control the vegetation or ignores very clear warnings, weather warnings about the dangerous situations to come — the results are devastating and deadly,” attorney Doug Boxer said.

Mikal Watts, a trial lawyer, pointed to multiple videos recorded on night the Eaton Fire started. He said the group’s investigators used advanced technology to identify the fire’s cause and reconstruct its progression.

“We’ve been over it, and over it, and over it,” Erin Brockovich, a consumer advocate and member of LA Fire Justice, said, citing SCE’s “failed infrastructure” as the cause of the fire.

“We’re not going to stop the Santa Ana winds, but there are more things that we can be doing and that we should be doing that makes this state and our communities have a defensible position so we don’t continue to have these types of fires,” Brockovich said.

The cost of the Eaton Fire could be up to $10.5 billion to $14.5 billion, Watts estimated. adding that New York-based hedge funds guess the cost will be more like $20 billion, while Morgan Stanley estimated between $15 billion and $30 billion.

“I hope it’s not that high, but we have work to do,” Watts said. “There’s an entire community that was leveled by Southern California Edison. It did not have to happen.”

LA Fire Justice has scheduled two town hall meetings, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. and 10 a.m. Feb. 8, at the Pasadena Masonic Temple, 200 S. Euclid Ave.

The group has urged fire victims to attend and submit any photographs and video they may have showing the Eaton Fire’s flashpoint.

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