By Signal Staff
The Los Angeles County Fire Department has released “initial and supplemental investigative reports” identifying the cause of the Eaton Fire that started Jan. 7, 2025, and the county’s conclusion is that Southern California Edison electrical equipment provided the spark that started the deadly blaze.
The Eaton Fire destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 homes and businesses and killed 19 people in the San Gabriel Mountains and foothill communities just south of the Santa Clarita Valley, the county report said.
The county Fire Department’s Arson Fire Investigation Unit jointly conducted the investigation with CAL FIRE, the release said.
“After 18 months of thorough review of all evidence, alongside retained electrical and metallurgical experts, the investigation concluded that the cause of the wildfire conflagration was due to the electrical arcing events that took place on the out-of-service Southern California Edison tower,” the release said.
Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, told The Associated Press that the utility has received the report and is reviewing it.
“We have taken our potential role in the start of this fire seriously from the very beginning,” Dunleavy said, per the AP. She said SCE previously acknowledged “it was likely our equipment was associated with the ignition of the Eaton Fire.”
She added the utility continues to support the community as it recovers.
Fire investigators, using the National Wildfire Coordinating Group investigative methodology, found that the area of the Eaton Fire origin was on the dry receptive fuel bed below the SCE transmission towers on the spur ridge above the Eaton Wash, the release said.
“Video evidence collected by the Eaton Fire Investigation team revealed two electrical arcing events that occurred in quick succession, leading to an unknown burning material falling from the SCE tower’s location into the dry receptive fuel bed below,” the county report said. “The fuel bed ignited approximately 12 seconds after the burning material was seen falling from the arcing event. The Eaton Fire rapidly developed into a conflagration engulfing the areas of the San Gabriel Mountains, Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and La Canada Flintridge. It was fully contained 24 days later, on Jan. 31, 2025.”
Pursuant to the California Public Utilities Code, SCE is to maintain and operate its electrical lines and equipment in a manner that would minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire posed by them, the county release said.
“I recognize that no report or investigation into the Eaton Fire can ease the deep pain and tragedy our residents have endured,” Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said in the release. “While the cause has been determined, our focus remains on assisting our residents to rebuild their homes and livelihoods, and ensuring lessons learned drive meaningful and impactful change in memory of the 19 lives lost.”
