LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Fire Department on Tuesday, Aug. 4, released an investigative report that identified electrical arcing from an out-of-service Southern California Edison tower as the cause of the devastating Eaton fire, which went on to kill 19 people and damage or destroy more than 9,000 homes and businesses.
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The investigative report backs the long-standing theory that sparks from an Edison tower fell onto brush below and started the massive blaze, at 6:20 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2025, that went on to devastate Altadena and parts of surrounding communities.
The fire raged on for almost a month, burning more than 14,000 acres before it was fully contained on Jan. 31, 2025.
This investigation into the cause of the fire was done by the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Fire Investigation Unit in conjunction with Cal Fire, officials said.
The 55-page report states that the fire “was sparked by an electrical event” on an SCE tower on a ridge above the Eaton Wash. Officials said that under 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. …
“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 report says. “The fuel bed ignited approximately twelve seconds after the burning material was seen falling from the arcing event.”
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The fire ignited during an uncommon windstorm, with gusts surging to nearly 100 mph in the foothills above Pasadena and Altadena around the time the blaze started.
“I recognize that no report or investigation into the Eaton fire can ease the deep pain and tragedy our residents have endured,” LACoFD Chief Anthony Marrone said. “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.”
The fire initially started spreading toward Sierra Madre, but after a change in wind direction, blew into Altadena, quickly igniting homes and leading to evacuations. Many in West Altadena did not receive evacuation alerts from the county until 3 a.m. or later on Jan. 8, 2025.
A report released in May found that those evacuation alerts were not intentionally delayed by officials, but rather because officials were working with rapidly evolving fire conditions and had no assistance from air support, which was grounded due to the high winds.
Hundreds of residents began filing civil lawsuits against SCE in the months after the fire, claiming its equipment was the cause of the blaze.
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