Utility company equipment caused deadly 2025 Eaton fire, long-awaited report finds
Los Angeles County fire officials say the Eaton fire that killed 19 people and destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 structures was ignited by electrical arcing on an out-of-service Southern California Edison tower.
Fire investigators have concluded that the deadly Eaton fire in the Los Angeles area in January 2025 was caused by equipment belonging to Southern California Edison (SCE), according to a long-awaited report released Tuesday. The report from Los Angeles County fire officials states that electrical arcing events on an out-of-service tower belonging to the utility sparked the blaze.
After an 18-month investigation involving electrical and metallurgical experts, the county determined that the fire, which killed 19 people and damaged or destroyed more than 9,000 homes and businesses, resulted from arcing on the decommissioned tower. The fire scorched 22 square miles (57 square kilometers) and took nearly a month for firefighters to fully extinguish.
SCE spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy said the utility has received the report and is reviewing it, adding that the company has taken its potential role seriously from the beginning and previously acknowledged that its equipment was likely associated with the fire's ignition. She said SCE continues to support the community's recovery.
The report found that two electrical arcing events occurred in rapid succession during extreme weather conditions—high temperatures, low humidity, and powerful winds. Burning material fell from the tower to the dry brush below, igniting within 12 seconds. The fire swiftly developed into a conflagration that engulfed the San Gabriel Mountains, Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and La Cañada Flintridge, taking more than two weeks to contain.
The investigation, conducted jointly with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, concluded that SCE was responsible for maintaining and operating its lines and equipment in a manner that would minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire.
Earlier this year, SCE filed lawsuits claiming Los Angeles County agencies failed to issue timely evacuation warnings for east and west Altadena. Eighteen of the 19 victims lived in west Altadena. The utility also alleged that water agencies, including Pasadena Water and Power, didn't supply enough water to fight the spreading fire. The county declined to comment on the latest filings.
The report also cited an interview with a Pasadena resident who called 911 on January 7 after spotting flames across the canyon from his home's rear window, describing a 10-inch by 10-inch fire at the base of a high-voltage electrical tower.
The Eaton fire occurred simultaneously with the Palisades fire, the most destructive in Los Angeles' history and among the five worst in California, which killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 homes and buildings. The man accused of starting the Palisades fire, Jonathan Rinderknecht, will be retried this fall after his first federal arson trial ended in a mistrial in June. Prosecutors say he used a barbecue lighter on January 1, 2025, to ignite a fire that burned undetected in root systems before flaring up again on January 7.
