As reported by the Los Angeles Daily News
Allegations based on videos have emerged pointing at an Southern California Edison electrical power line as being the potential cause.
Various lawsuits were filed Monday and contain cellphone generated photos of flames licking at the bottom of a transmission tower. Two suits seemed to rely heavily on a report by Pasadena resident Brendan Thorn, who lived on Canyon Close Road, adjacent to Eaton Canyon. He said he noticed his power flicker at 6:10 p.m. on Jan. 7.
A few minutes later, a neighbor called him to say there was a fire under the power lines in Eaton Canyon. “Sure enough, I walk outside and those towers right up there at the very base of it, right around the bottom there was a fire maybe knee-high starting about there,” Thorn was quoted in a lawsuit by Jeremy Gursey. The Eaton fire was first reported at 6:18 p.m.
The lawsuits blame the utility for igniting the Eaton fire, which reduced areas of Altadena to rubble.
The legal complaints in the Eaton fire allege the blaze was caused by sparks from Edison high-voltage power lines that were not “de-energized” despite the high threat of fire.
The power lines arced, sending a “shower” of sparks to the dry brush below the transmission tower, said one lawsuit representing multiple victims led by Lincoln Anthony Wallen.
On Thursday, Edison filed a report with the California Public Utilities Commission that an analysis showed there were no interruptions or operational/electrical anomalies in the 12 hours before the fire started and not until more than one hour after the blaze was first reported.
Gabriela Ornelas, an SCE spokesperson, said Edison was aware of the litigation and will review the legal complaints once the company is served. “The cause of the fire continues to be under investigation,” Ornelas said.
Pedro Pizarro, CEO of the parent company of SCE, confirmed to KABC-TV that the utility is doing its own investigation.
“We’ve seen in your reporting the videos, we’ve seen the photos, so we know that there was fire there. We don’t know what caused it,” Pizarro said. “Whatever we find, we’ll be transparent with our public.”
Attorney Robertson responded: “I’ve litigated about seven wildfire cases against Edison and this is exponentially bigger than any other Southern California wildfire. They always start out disputing liability but in the end, they agree to mediate.”
Los Angeles County fire officials also reiterated that their investigation is continuing.