As part of an investigation into the start of the deadly Eaton Fire that devastated Altadena and nearby communities, Southern California Edison is removing a transmission tower suspected of sparking blaze and moving parts to a warehouse for testing and analysis, a spokesperson for the utility confirmed Thursday.
A helicopter lifted a portion of a tower out of Eaton Canyon on Wednesday, according to local television news reports. A second part of the tower was moved about one hour later.
The dismantled tower will first go to a staging area in the canyon and will then move to another location for more testing, SCE spokesperson Gabriella Ornelas said. Third-party experts hired by SCE will analyze equipment in “close coordination” with experts from “interested parties” that include fire investigators, city and county officials and plaintiffs’ counsel.
Further testing and analysis will take place at a warehouse in Irwindale. The testing site’s specific location was unavailable, Ornelas said.
“This is all part of an effort to get as much information as we can to have a thorough and transparent investigation into the cause of the Eaton Fire,” Dave Eisenhauer of SCE told ABC7.
Several lawsuits have been filed against the utility that focus on the transmission tower as the fire’s alleged starting point. Los Angeles County, the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre and many Altadena homeowners are among the plaintiffs.
The Eaton Fire erupted Jan. 7 amid hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, leveling neighborhoods and burning over 14,000 acres while causing the deaths of 18 people, according to Cal Fire.
Updated May 8, 2025, 11:03 a.m.
