Southern California Edison is under increasing investigation to see if one of its transmission towers caused the Eaton fire. This week, they reported that a campsite was discovered about 300 yards downhill from the tower in Eaton Canyon.
Edison did not say that the camp caused the fire. Lawyers suing the company have serious doubts about its involvement in the fire that destroyed over 7,000 homes and killed 17 people.
The discovery highlights the important efforts of California’s fire detectives as they work to find out what started the fire.
Fire officials are focusing on an electricity transmission tower in Eaton Canyon. Residents reported to The Times that they saw flames starting at the base of the tower. Early photos and videos taken by local residents show that the fire started just below the tower. It quickly spread down the canyon, sending out a wave of sparks that destroyed hundreds of homes.
Edison stated that it does not think its equipment started the fire. It’s not clear when the study will end or what other sources Cal Fire is looking into.
In a letter to the plaintiff’s lawyers, which The Times has seen, Edison mentioned that the camp had two fire rings, food, and parts of a tent.
“The letter obtained by The Times says that the campsite was in use just before the Eaton fire started.”
Utility workers discovered metal pieces and debris near the electrical towers over Eaton Canyon, as mentioned in the letter.
Last week, investigators from Southern California Edison and lawyers suing the company started looking at the site of the Eaton fire. However, they have different ideas about what might have started the fire.
Lawyers for homeowners suing Southern California Edison say that witnesses saw sparks at the tower just before the fire started. Over 20 lawsuits have been made against the utility company, claiming that videos and pictures indicate the fire was started by Southern California Edison’s electrical equipment.
Lawyers from three companies representing residents who have filed separate lawsuits against Southern California Edison rejected the idea that the encampment played any role in starting the fire.
“That homeless camp had nothing to do with it,” said Alexander Robertson. His company, Robertson & Associates, is suing on behalf of some Altadena locals whose homes were destroyed.
Richard Bridgford from the law company Bridgford Gleason & Artinian, who has also filed a lawsuit, stated that the camp is more than three football fields away from where the fire likely started, making it unlikely that the camp had any involvement in the fire.
“I think it’s neither here nor there,” he said. “I genuinely think it’s mostly false information.”
Cal Fire investigators blocked off a big section of Eaton Canyon to look into how the fire began. Reporters from The Times noticed that inspectors were looking closely at one electrical tower, where video showed the fire starting at the bottom.
The area opened on January 16 and has since been checked by officials from Southern California Edison and investigators from law companies that are suing the utility company.
Ali Moghadas, a partner at Edelson PC, which has also filed a lawsuit, called the encampment a distraction in the probe.
“Unfortunately, it looks like SoCal Edison is going for the same ‘look over there!’ arguments that we so often see from utilities in these cases,” Moghadas said in an email. “We’re concentrating on looking at the evidence that the court has already ordered SCE to provide.”
Gerald Singleton, a lawyer from Singleton Schreiber, stated that his firm’s detectives believe the fire was caused by electrical equipment. They also observed marks on the tower that show signs of arcing.
Singleton said, “It was either a fire caused by electricity, or it was from something we’ve never encountered before.”
Bridgford mentioned that its detective saw signs that may indicate arcing on the tower.
Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, said that their checks of equipment have not found any signs of arcing.
“We really hope people won’t make quick judgments,” she said.
Many companies have asked Edison to lower the electric lines from the towers.
If arcing happens, the lines usually show damage on the aluminum strands, according to Robertson. His company and others have requested that Edison lower the lines for inspection because they can’t be checked from the ground or with a drone.
Robertson mentioned that his firm was informed by the company that it could take months to lower the lines, which he called “unacceptable.”
Earlier this week, a judge told Southern California Edison to keep records and tools related to the cause of the Eaton fire. In court documents against the order, Edison said it was already giving lawyers information and keeping equipment and evidence safe near the likely starting point and a 1-square-mile area in eastern Altadena.
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