In a step towards unraveling the origins of the destructive Eaton Fire, Southern California Edison has begun dismantling parts of an idle power transmission line near Altadena. This week, workers were deployed by helicopter to remove conductors and power lines in advance of taking down two towers, reported NBC Los Angeles. Thorough analyses of these components are pivotal, as they could shed light on whether the utility's equipment was involved in sparking the January blaze.
Since the Eaton Fire scorched the Pasadena and Altadena areas, multiple lawsuits have been lodged against Southern California Edison. Among the claimants are the City of Pasadena, Los Angeles County, the Pasadena Unified School District, and other affected parties. These suits argue that the utility's electrical setup ignited one of the most destructive fires in the state's record, as per CBS News. SCE's response involves meticulous equipment examination in partnership with fire agencies, including advanced testing techniques to bolster the ongoing investigation.
At the core of the inquiry is one particular tower, tagged as Tower 208, positioned at the alleged origin point of the fire. A phenomenon known as "induction" may have reenergized the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line, triggering the inferno, Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro suggested in a discussion with the Los Angeles Daily News. This retired line had been out of service for over five decades following damage sustained in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, but had remained physically intact before the recent initiatives.
The devastation wrought by the Eaton Fire in January extends to a death toll of 18 and the demolition of 9,400 structures. Los Angeles County's ensuing legal action against Southern California Edison seeks recovery for the extensive fire damage. The utility, meanwhile, has acknowledged the potential involvement of its equipment and has pledged to explore every possible cause behind the wildfire, including the induction hypothesis. Southern California Edison said Tuesday, "As we noted in our Feb. 6 filing with the California Public Utilities Commission, while certain information and third-party videos from the early stages of the fire have emerged suggesting a possible connection to Southern California Edison’s equipment, SCE has not identified physical evidence in the preliminary origin area—such as broken conductors, arc marks or faults on the energized lines—that would support that association," according to NBC Los Angeles.
With state and county investigations running concurrently, the actions taken by Southern California Edison are observed with keen interest by both the legal parties and the wider community, hopeful for answers to the root cause of the Eaton Fire.
