While the causes of this month’s deadly and devastating Southern California wildfires remain under investigation, a new video claims to show the start of the Eaton fire that consumed 14,000 acres.
The video was shared on social media on Sunday by the multistate law firm Edelson PC, which is suing the utility Southern California Edison on behalf of a resident affected by the blaze.
“We’ve obtained video that indicates the Eaton fire in Los Angeles started after an apparent arc on SoCal Edison lines,” attorneys for the firm alleged. “We’re back in court for a hearing tomorrow fighting to make sure that SoCal Edison keeps all the evidence that we will put before a jury in this case.”
“That video requires careful analysis,” David Eisenhauer, a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, told The Independent on Tuesday.
“When we received it, we shared it quickly with fire investigators so that they had it as part of our commitment to transparency,” he continued. “I would also say it’s premature for anyone to comment on footage until experts complete a review. And so, we’ve reached out to the authorities after receiving it to make sure they had it, and we continue to fully cooperate with the investigation.”
Other video and photos had captured flames beneath Edison’s Eaton Canyon area electrical towers in the early minutes of the fire, which started on January 7.
Attorneys have argued that there is “evidence that [Southern California Edison’s] equipment in Eaton Canyon was the source of the initial ignition, and there is a near-certainty that physical evidence of the cause exists somewhere along the SCE transmission lines that run parallel to the line on the tower that erupted in flame.”
Edison says there is still no evidence that its equipment caused the blaze.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge previously ordered the utility not to alter or destroy any of its equipment inside the Eaton fire zone in the coming weeks.
Layers claimed earlier this month that Southern California Edison crews working to repair and restore power in the area may have destroyed evidence that could determine the Eaton fire’s cause.
“The court’s order expands its earlier preservation order to ensure that the six-mile span of lines running away from that tower, as well as other physical evidence that might show why that tower went up, is preserved,” Ali Moghaddas, partner at Edelson PC, said in a statement shared with The Independent.
In a filing to the California Public Utilities Commission, Edison reported two days after the Eaton fire started that it had not received any suggestions that its equipment was involved in the ignition.
“Preliminary analysis by SCE of electrical circuit information for the energized transmission lines going through the area for 12 hours prior to the reported start time of the fire shows no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire,” the utility reported.
That’s an assertion that was repeated on Monday.
“We appreciate the court’s careful consideration and acknowledgement of SCE’s continuing to preserve equipment and secure Altadena for the safety of residents,” Eisenhauer told The Independent.
Edison lawyers have said that the utility must “immediately undertake reconstruction work in Altadena to make the area safe for the public and to remove damaged equipment.”
Edison asked attorneys for the victims to “inform us immediately if you are in possession of any information or evidence suggesting that Southern California Edison’s distribution facilities in Altadena are relevant to the Eaton fire.”
On Monday, Southern California Edison reported a fault on a power line connected miles away from the ones near the origin of the Eaton fire.
“Preliminary analysis shows that, because SCE’s transmission system is networked, the fault on this geographically distant line caused a momentary and expected increase in current on SCE’s transmission system, including on the four energized lines (in the fire area),” its filing said. “The current increase remained within the design limits and operating criteria for these circuits and, as intended, did not trigger system protection on these lines.”
The Eaton fire is now 99 percent contained as of Tuesday, according to fire officials. At least 17 fatalities have been connected to that fire.
With reporting from The Associated Press
