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Eaton Fire Cause Confirmed
Los Angeles County fire officials said a 2025 Eaton Fire in the Los Angeles area was sparked by electrical arcing from an out-of-service Southern California Edison transmission tower, after an 18-month investigation concluded the cause of the wildfire conflagration was due to “the electrical arcing events that took place on the out-of-service Southern California Edison (SCE) tower.”
“the electrical arcing events that took place on the out-of-service Southern California Edison (SCE) tower”
The ABC News report said the blaze killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and businesses, and that firefighters took nearly a month to extinguish it after it scorched 22 square miles (57 square kilometers).
Investigators said two “electrical arcing events” occurred in quick succession, causing an unknown burning material to fall from the tower to the ground below, and that within 12 seconds dry grass and brush ignited and the fire rapidly developed into a conflagration engulfing areas including Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and La Canada Flintridge.
The investigation was conducted by the Los Angeles County Arson Fire Investigation Unit jointly with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, and it found electrical arcing on the utility’s out-of-service tower sparked dry brush below.
A separate Deadline report said the final report released Tuesday stated the fire “was sparked by an electrical event” at an Edison transmission near the Eaton Wash and that it was fully contained 24 days later, on Jan. 31, 2025.
SCE Response and Survivor Anger
Southern California Edison spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy said the utility has received the report and is reviewing it, and she told ABC News, “We have taken our potential role in the start of this fire seriously from the very beginning.”
LAist reported that an Edison spokesperson, Scott Johnson, said the company is “currently reviewing” the report but declined to say whether it planned to dispute the findings, while also pointing to the company’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program.
LAist quoted Altadena-area Supervisor Kathryn Barger saying the report brings more “insight and answers,” and it also included survivor Zaire Calvin’s anger that “Edison still hasn't accepted responsibility,” after his sister, Evelyn McClendon, died in the fire.
The LAist account said investigators determined arcing electrical lines near an Edison transmission tower in Eaton Canyon “ejected hot metal particles” that fell into dry vegetation at the tower’s base, and that twelve seconds later what became the Eaton Fire ignited.
CBS News quoted Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone saying, “While the cause has been determined, our focus remains on assisting our residents to rebuild their homes and livelihoods,” as the report was released by the LACFD Arson Fire Investigation Unit and Cal Fire.
Lawsuits, Compensation, and What’s Next
The investigation’s findings are positioned as a key factor for ongoing litigation, with LAist saying the report has been discussed at trial hearings for lawsuits against the utility and that Edison lawyers argued a trial date could not be set without an official cause.
“a trial date has been set for Jan. 25, 2027”
LAist reported that attorney Amanda Riddle said that point is now moot and that her team will bring the Fire Department’s report to a case management hearing later this month, while it said a trial date has been set for Jan. 25, 2027.
In parallel, ABC News said SoCal Edison has claimed in lawsuits earlier this year that Los Angeles County agencies failed to send timely evacuation warnings to residents in east and west Altadena, and it said 18 of the 19 people who died lived in west Altadena.
ABC News also said the utility has claimed water agencies, including Pasadena Water and Power, did not provide enough water as the fire spread, leaving firefighters with limited resources, while Los Angeles County declined to comment about the latest court filings.
CBS News said the utility last month announced it paid more than $314 million to victims through its Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, and the Mount Shasta Herald reported that the program had more than 4,000 claims submitted with more than half paid totaling more than $375 million.
