Officials investigate possible role of utility companies in LA fires

As another wind system prepares to move through the Los Angeles area this week, and as emergency officials continue to battle wildfires that broke out last week, investigations are underway to determine what may have sparked some of the most destructive wildfires in California history.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has taken the lead in the investigation into the Palisades Fire, where more than 23,000 acres have now burned, and aerial images show roughly 5,000 structures damaged or destroyed since Monday.

Investigators are looking into possible causes, including arson or starting a fire in the same area where fireworks were set off on New Year’s Eve, according to fire officials.

One possible theory, which officials said had not been proven or ruled out as of Monday, is that transmission lines or electrical facilities may have played a role in starting some of the LA County fires.

In Altadena, where more than 14,000 acres have burned and more than 7,000 structures are believed to have been destroyed or damaged in what is known as the Eaton Fire, investigators are scouring Eaton Canyon for clues.

Witnesses shared videos from ABC News Ring cameras and cellphones showing what they believe was the start of the Eaton Fire at the base of a transmission tower in the canyon.

Fire officials told ABC News they are aware of the videos and are part of the investigation.

But Edison International, which owns transmission lines in the area for one of the country’s largest electric utilities, Southern California Edison, said it has not seen any electrical equipment start the fire there.

In a report submitted to the state, Edison said “no fire agency has suggested that SCE’s electrical installations were involved in the fire or that any SCE equipment was requested to be removed and secured.”

He said there were no signatures in the energy reports on the evening of the ignition, which was January 7, that would indicate a causal relationship between the power lines and the fire.

The report stated that “SCE’s initial analysis of electrical circuit information on energized transmission lines passing through the area shows no outages or electrical or operational anomalies more than one hour after the reported time of fire initiation.”

“Normally, when there’s a spark created by the equipment, you’re going to see that kind of electrical anomaly. We didn’t see that,” Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, told George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America” ​​Monday.

“That being said, we still haven’t been able to get close to the equipment, because the firefighters have not considered the area safe,” he continued. “As soon as we approach it, we will conduct an inspection and we will be transparent with the public.”

Edison said it has received preservation notices from attorneys representing insurance companies regarding the Eaton Fire.

In Sylmar, the Hurst Fire burned nearly 800 acres Monday before firefighters reached 97 percent containment.

Edison said the fire agency is investigating its equipment there, but Pizarro said the company does not know if the equipment that fell in the area is connected to the start of the fire.

“We said we saw damage to the equipment, but we noticed that the start time of that fire was 10:10 p.m.,” Pizarro told Stephanopoulos. “We first noticed an electrical anomaly in our system at 10:11 p.m. And so with the timing so close, we don’t know if the damage happened before or after the fire started.”

Officials have not yet determined the cause of any of the fires.

Pizarro told ABC News that SCE, one of the region’s largest electric utilities, notified about 450,000 customers that it would have to shut off power this week as another wind system comes up as part of the company’s Public Safety Power Outages and Wildfire Mitigation. The plan

Pizarro noted that the planned power outages pose risks and consequences for customers, but added that officials say SCE’s power outages prior to the Eaton Fire saved lives.

Most of California’s privately owned major utility companies use Public Safety types of power in some way, but the companies have the final say on when and where to preemptively shut off power to customers as a last resort to avoid a fire. special weather conditions.

In a statement released Jan. 8, SCE said its distribution lines “were immediately discharged west of Eaton Canyon well before the fire’s start time.” He also said the company was conducting a review of the event.

LADWP, a municipally-owned utility that serves Pacific Palisades, told ABC News that it does not operate any Public Safety power lines in the city of LA. Instead, the company says it uses a technology known as automatic circuit recirculation to “prevent wind-driven circuits from energizing in high winds in the event of an outage or outage.”

Fire investigators and engineering experts told ABC News that this type of technology may be too little, too late.

“The big difference between what they (LADWP) do and the Public Safety Power Shutdown is this: PSPS is preventative. Because you don’t want anything to happen and you anticipate a high fire risk and you take the power off,” Ali said. Mehrizi-Sani, professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Tech.

“Blocking resets is really reactive. Something has happened and to make sure you don’t make it worse, you cancel the line,” added Mehrizi-Sani.

Officials have not suggested that LADWP electrical equipment had anything to do with the Palisades fire.

“We also have small areas of Class 2 high fire,” LADWP told ABC News, referring to the level of the classification system that determines high fire danger.

“We have worked closely with the LAFD to develop this program to protect public safety while maintaining service throughout our city-wide area with many hospitals and other energy-dependent facilities,” the utility said.