Southern California Edison tower identified as cause of 2025 Eaton wildfire

Los Angeles County fire officials released a report on Tuesday indicating that sparks from an out-of-service transmission tower owned by Southern California Edison ignited the Eaton fire on Jan. 7, 2025. The blaze burned 22 square miles, killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and businesses before being fully contained after nearly a month of firefighting.

Investigators determined that electrical arcing occurred when uninsulated wires on the idle tower came into close contact, creating sparks that fell to dry vegetation on a ridge. The report, prepared jointly by the Los Angeles County Arson Fire Investigation Unit and Cal Fire, cited resident testimonies describing a blue flash and a circle of orange sparks at the base of the tower.

Southern California Edison, which serves about 15 million customers in the state, had previously reported a fault on one of its transmission lines at the time the fire started. The utility’s spokesperson, Kathleen Dunleavy, said the company is reviewing the findings and has taken its potential role in the fire “seriously from the very beginning.”

The utility faces hundreds of lawsuits from fire victims, insurers and government entities, and the U.S. Department of Justice has sued it for damages to National Forest land, seeking more than $40 million. Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivor’s Network, said the report confirms what many victims believed about the fire’s origin.

Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone emphasized that, while the cause has been identified, the department’s priority remains assisting residents with recovery and applying lessons learned to prevent future tragedies.

The Eaton fire burned concurrently with the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed over 6,800 structures in Pacific Palisades. A separate arson investigation continues for the Palisades blaze.