Los Angeles County Fire Department announced on Tuesday that the 2025 Eaton Fire was sparked by an electrical arc from a decommissioned transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison (SCE).
Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, the Eaton Fire erupted on January 7, 2025, in the Altadena area, resulting in at least 19 fatalities, the destruction of approximately 9,000 structures, and burning over 14,000 acres.
There has been longstanding suspicion from the public that SCE’s power equipment was the source of the wildfire, leading to multiple lawsuits against the company. In documents previously submitted to regulatory agencies, SCE has acknowledged that its equipment likely played a role in the ignition of the fire.
SCE spokesperson David Eisenhauer told City News on Tuesday, “We stand with the Altadena community and will continue to assist residents in their recovery and rebuilding efforts through the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program.”
The investigation into the cause of the fire was conducted jointly by the Arson Investigation Division of the LA County Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
The report identified a SCE transmission tower near Eaton Wash as the ignition point of the fire, stating that “video evidence shows the tower experiencing two consecutive electrical arcing flashes in a very short period of time, followed by unidentified burning materials falling from the tower onto the dry, flammable vegetation below.”
Approximately 12 seconds after the burning materials fell, the ground vegetation started to ignite, rapidly spreading into a large-scale fire that consumed areas including San Gabriel Mountain, Altadena, Pasadena, the Sierra Madre Mountains, and La Canada Flintridge, burning continuously for 24 days before finally being brought under control.
According to the California Public Utilities Code, SCE is obligated to maintain and operate its electrical equipment to “minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfires caused by its equipment.”
Last September, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles filed a lawsuit against SCE for the Eaton Fire and another wildfire, seeking reimbursement for damages to thousands of acres of the Angeles National Forest. The lawsuit alleges that both fires were caused by SCE equipment failures, with the damages sought exceeding $40 million.
Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli posted on social media on Tuesday, stating, “We will hold SCE accountable for their actions and will not allow them to pass any settlement costs on to ratepayers. Despite last year’s profits exceeding $4 billion, SCE, due to their own negligence in sparking wildfires, is still seeking to raise electricity prices, which is unacceptable.”
Furthermore, hundreds of residents affected by the Eaton Fire have also filed lawsuits against SCE.
SCE has established a Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, allowing affected individuals to file claims directly with the company outside of the courtroom. However, lawyers representing the victims criticize the compensation program, stating it fails to fully compensate affected residents for their losses.