By Los Angeles County Politics (LACP)
The Los Angeles County Fire Department released the results of its 18-month investigation into the Eaton Fire today, concluding the January 2025 blaze that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 structures was caused by electrical arcing on an out-of-service Southern California Edison (SCE) transmission tower.
But SCE spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy said that while the company received and is reviewing the LA County Fire Report, it probably will not affect the company’s own pending lawsuit against LA County, in which SCE argues the county’s delayed evacuation notification of West Altadena contributed to the fire’s death toll.
“We’ve taken our potential role in the start of this fire seriously from the beginning. As we’ve said, Edison believes it’s likely that our equipment was associated with the ignition of the fire. We stood up the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program in October to help the community recover and rebuild,” Dunleavy said, adding, however, that wildfires of this magnitude are rarely the result of one factor.
“There are numerous conditions, including emergency response, vegetation, water availability, notifications, and other circumstances that affect fire suppression, spread, and evacuation. All of those things influence how a fire grows and the extent of damage.”
According to LACoFD’s release today, the department’s Arson Fire Investigation Unit, working jointly with Cal Fire, determined the fire began at approximately 6:11 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2025, when two electrical arcing events occurred in quick succession at a grouping of SCE transmission towers on a spur ridge above Eaton Canyon.
Video evidence showed unknown burning material falling from the towers into dry vegetation below; the fuel bed ignited roughly 12 seconds later and rapidly grew into a conflagration amid extreme Santa Ana wind conditions, with gusts reaching 85 mph in the area. The fire burned more than 14,000 acres and was fully contained 24 days later, on Jan. 31, 2025.
Investigators eliminated lightning, campfire activity, and arson as possible causes, finding no lightning strikes in the area during the relevant period, no evidence of recent camping activity within the fire’s origin area, and no ignition devices or signs of intentional wrongdoing.
The investigation’s supplemental report, finalized in July 2026 following extensive metallurgical and electrical testing of SCE equipment removed from the towers, concluded the arcing occurred at the southwest conductor paddle of a tower supporting SCE’s out-of-service Mesa-Sylmar circuit, ejecting hot metal particles into receptive fuel below.
Today’s origin-and-cause report does not address the separate, and increasingly scrutinized, question of how the county itself responded once the fire started.
All but one of the fire’s 19 deaths occurred in West Altadena, a historically Black and Latino community that, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times and others, did not receive evacuation warnings until roughly 3:25 a.m. — about nine hours after East Altadena residents were first warned.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has an open civil rights investigation examining whether the county’s delayed notification of West Altadena violated state anti-discrimination and disability rights law, a dispute that remains unresolved and sits outside the scope of Monday’s findings.
Pressed on whether responsibility for the delayed evacuation specifically belongs to the county rather than Edison, Dunleavy did not concede the point, instead noting the company has multiple claims of its own pending against other parties.
“That is one of the reasons why we have a number of cross claims out there,” she said. “Fires of this magnitude and scope are rarely the result of a single factor. This was a historic wind and drought event.”
In releasing their report today, the LACoFD also said in a statement that it recognizes the ongoing impact of the Eaton Fire and the community’s need for answers. As such, the LACoFD remains firmly committed to transparency and fully supports all independent investigations and after-action reviews.
“I recognize that no report or investigation into the Eaton Fire can ease the deep pain and tragedy our residents have endured,” said LACoFD Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone. “While the cause has been determined, our focus remains on assisting our residents to rebuild their homes and livelihoods, and ensuring lessons learned drive meaningful and impactful change in memory of the 19 lives lost.”
