
The investigation into the origin of the devastating Eaton Fire, which has claimed lives and incinerated thousands of structures, increasingly centers on an electrical tower in Eaton Canyon as a point of interest. KTLA reports that CalFire investigators are probing the area around a transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison, where the blaze is believed to have sparked.
In the grim tally since the fire's onset, authorities confirm the loss of at least 11 lives, the destruction of around 7,000 structures, and an impact spreading across more than 14,000 acres. Although Southern California Edison maintains that there is no evidence pointing to their equipment as the ignition source, residents' videos and photos suggest that the first flickers of the devastating fire were near this tower, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A resident of the area, Marcus Errico, described a harrowing escape after noticing a red glow above his home on Canyon View Lane. "At first it didn’t click," Errico said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "Then I realized it was a fire, and there was at this point, just a small ring of flames around the base of one of the [electrical] towers." Winds at that time were recorded at a perilous 70 mph, prompting Errico and his family to flee.
While Southern California Edison has reported to regulators that no "electrical or operational anomalies" were present until over an hour after the fire's reported start, the area at the base of the transmission tower is still undergoing intense scrutiny. "Nobody is allowed up there besides investigators," CalFire investigator Wayne Howerton told KTLA. "It's currently an investigation into the start of the Eaton fire," he added, sealing off a complex scene from media, the utility company itself, and other firefighting teams.