Fire agencies are investigating whether Southern California Edison’s equipment ignited one of the fires currently ravaging Los Angeles, the utility said in a news release Jan. 12.
SCE stated that it filed electric safety incident reports with the California Public Utilities Commission related to the Eaton and Hurst fires. Utilities are required to file reports for incidents that meet certain criteria, such as media attention or governmental investigation, according to the news release.
The utility filed one such report Jan. 10 after learning that fire agencies are investigating whether SCE equipment ignited the Hurst Fire in Sylmar, a neighborhood in Los Angeles.
The Hurst Fire started late on the evening of Jan. 7, hours after the Palisades and Eaton fires had erupted. The blaze covered almost 800 acres and was 95% contained as of Jan. 13, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
SCE said the fire was reported at approximately 10:10 p.m. and that a 220-kV circuit experienced a relay at 10:11 p.m. A downed power line was discovered at a tower associated with the circuit, and “SCE does not know whether the damage observed occurred before or after the start of the fire,” the utility added.
Jeff Monford, a spokesperson for SCE, told RTO Insider that the utility is “cooperating with a fire agency investigation.”
SCE also filed an incident report related to the Eaton Fire after receiving “significant media attention” and preservation notices from counsel representing insurance companies.
“It’s important to note that no fire agency has suggested that SCE facilities were involved in the ignition of the [Eaton] fire, and they have not requested the removal and retention of any of our equipment,” Monford said.
The Eaton Fire began around 6:18 p.m. Jan. 7 and has burned over 14,000 acres. The deadly fire has engulfed parts of the Altadena community, with thousands of structures either damaged or destroyed. The flames have claimed at least 11 lives and continue to threaten nearby communities, according to Cal Fire.
A preliminary analysis of the four energized transmission lines going through the area showed that there were no interruptions or anomalies in the 12 hours prior to the fire’s reported start time until an hour after the fire started, SCE stated.
As of Jan. 13, out of SCE’s approximately 5 million customers, almost 40,000 were still without power due to public safety power shutoffs, and more than 400,000 were being considered to have their power turned off. Meanwhile, about 500,000 customers had their power restored in the past few days, Monford said.
