Utility says its equipment may have started a small blaze that erupted during January’s LA firestorm
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/02/2025 (602 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California utility said Thursday that its equipment may have sparked a small wildfire in Los Angeles that broke out the same day as two massive blazes in the area that killed at least 29 people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Southern California Edison said the Los Angeles Fire Department is investigating the cause of the Hurst Fire and believes the utility’s equipment caused the blaze, which did not destroy any structures or cause any deaths. In a required filing with state utility regulators, SCE said “absent additional evidence, SCE believes its equipment may be associated with ignition of the Hurst Fire.”
In a second filing, the utility said it is looking into whether an idle transmission line became energized and possibly sparked the deadly Eaton Fire, which also sparked Jan. 7 devastated Altadena. But it still maintains there’s no evidence that its equipment was responsible for starting that blaze.
The utility acknowledged last month that fire agencies are investigating whether its equipment may have started the Hurst Fire, which scorched about 1.25 square miles (3.2 square km) around the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The utility said it is cooperating with investigators.
Regarding the Eaton Fire, SCE said it was reviewing a video that purports to show “flashes” of electrical arcing from a tower near where the blaze began. The utility said preliminary investigation found no evidence that arcing occurred, while acknowledging that some damage was found on related equipment.
“SCE does not know when this damage occurred and a comparison between pre- and post-fire photographs is underway,” the filing said.
Multiple lawsuits against SCE citing the video claim the utility’s equipment sparked the Eaton Fire, but the utility maintains that it’s still too early to make that determination.
“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,” the utility said in a news release announcing its filings.
The Eaton Fire, which killed at least 17 people, was fully contained last week. Full containment was also reached on the Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 12 people.
___
This story has been corrected to reflect that Southern California Edison says its equipment may have caused the Hurst Fire, not that it likely caused the Hurst Fire.
