Southern California Edison probing possible link to Los Angeles fires

Southern California Edison (SCE), a subsidiary of Edison International, said on Thursday that it was probing whether its equipment was associated with the ignition of two Los Angeles-area wildfires this year.

In what is expected to be the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, several wildfires tore across Los Angeles starting on January 7, leading to dozens of deaths and destroying thousands of homes.

The Eaton Fire was among the most destructive of the blazes, and burned in areas served by SCE power infrastructure, which has been a focus in ongoing investigations into the cause of that wildfire.

"Information and data have come to light, such as videos from external parties of the fire’s early stages, suggesting a possible link to SCE’s equipment, which the company takes seriously," SCE said in a statement.

"SCE has not identified typical or obvious indications that would support this association, such as broken conductors, fresh arc marks in the preliminary origin area, or evidence of faults on the energized lines running through that area."

SCE is planning to lower transmission lines in the Altadena area to be physically inspected for any possible link to the Eaton Fire's start. The company said it expects its investigation to last several months.

SCE also provided an update on its probe into the smaller Hurst Fire.

The company has a transmission tower, Tower 6, located north of Saddle Ridge Road, where the Hurst Fire reportedly originated, SCE said in a statement.

"The damage to SCE facilities has not yet been tabulated," the company said. "The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and SCE will continue to cooperate with fire investigators," the company said in a separate statement.

The fire, which was reported on January 7, was contained by January 16, after burning about 799 acres (323.34 hectares).

SCE, among other electric utilities, has come under increasing scrutiny after multiple wildfires consumed tens of thousands of acres across Los Angeles, in what is expected to be the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history.