Edison says encampment found near area where Eaton fire started; critics doubt it sparked fire

Facing growing scrutiny over whether one of its transmission towers sparked the Eaton fire, Southern California Edison this week said that an encampment was found roughly 300 yards downhill from the tower in Eaton Canyon.

Edison did not directly link the camp to a possible cause of the fire, and attorneys who are suing the utility expressed deep skepticism that it was involved in the fire that burned more than 7,000 homes and killed 17 people.

But the revelation underscores the high-stakes maneuvering as California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection investigators try to determine exactly what caused the fire.

Fire officials have zeroed on an electrical transmission tower in Eaton Canyon, where residents told The Times they saw the early flames of the fire at the base of the tower. Early photos and video captured by several residents confirm the first flames of the fire burned just below the tower, before racing down the canyon and blasting a torrent of embers that destroyed hundreds of homes.

Edison said it does not believe its equipment caused the fire. It is unclear when the investigation will conclude and what other potential sources Cal Fire is examining.

In a letter to plaintiff attorneys, reviewed by The Times, Edison said the camp included two fire rings, food and remnants of a tent.

“It appears that the campsite was occupied shortly before the Eaton fire ignited,” the letter, obtained by The Times, reads.

Utility officials also found pieces of metal and debris near the electrical towers over Eaton Canyon, according to the letter.

Investigators for Southern California Edison, as well as law firms that are suing the utility company, were allowed last week to begin examining the site where the Eaton fire was sparked, but the two sides have since pointed toward distinctly different possibilities as to how the fire might have been sparked.

Attorneys representing residents who have filed lawsuits against Southern California Edison allege witnesses saw arcing at the tower moments before the blaze. More than 20 lawsuits have been filed against the utility giant, alleging that the video and images suggest the fire was sparked by Southern California Edison’s electrical equipment.

Attorneys from three firms representing residents who have separately sued Southern California Edison dismissed the notion that the encampment might have had anything to do with the fire’s start.

“That homeless encampment had nothing to do with it,” said Alexander Robertson, whose firm Robertson & Associates, has filed a suit representing several Altadena residents whose homes were destroyed.

Richard Bridgford, from the law firm of Bridgford Gleason & Artinian, who has also filed suit, said the distance of the encampment to the suspected start of the fire was more than the equivalent of three football fields away, and therefore unlikely to have played a role.

“I think it’s neither here nor there,” he said. “I honestly believe that it’s more disinformation.”

Investigators with Cal Fire had cordoned off a large area of Eaton Canyon to investigate the start of the fire. Reporters with The Times saw investigators focusing their attention on one electrical tower, where video showed the first flames of the fire burning at its base.

The area was opened Jan. 16, and has since been inspected by officials with Southern California Edison, and investigators hired by law firms that have filed suit against the utility company.

Ali Moghadas, a partner at Edelson PC, which has also filed a lawsuit, referred to the encampment as a distraction in the investigation.

“Unfortunately, it looks like SoCal Edison is going for the same ‘look over there!’ arguments that we so often see from utilities in these cases,” Moghadas said in an email. “We’re focused on analyzing the actual evidence that SCE’s already been Court-ordered to turn over.”

Gerald Singleton, an attorney with the firm Singleton Schreiber, said investigators hired by his firm have zeroed in on the fire being caused by electrical equipment, and that the firm’s investigators noted markings on the tower consistent with signs of arcing.

“It was either an electrically caused fire, or it was a cause we’ve never seen before,” Singleton said.

Bridgford said its investigator also noted possible markings suggesting arcing on the tower.

Kathleen Dunleavy, spokesperson for Southern California Edison, said the company’s inspections of its equipment have so far revealed no signs of arcing.

“We certainly hope people won’t jump to premature conclusions,” she said.

Several firms have also requested that Edison lower the electrical wires from the towers.

If arcing occurred, the wires would often show damage on the aluminum strands of the wire, Robertson said. His firm and others have asked Edison to lower the wires for inspection since they cannot be examined from the ground or via drone.

Robertson said his firm has been told by the company that arrangements to lower the wires could take months, a possibility he called “unacceptable.”

Earlier this week, a judge ordered Southern California Edison to preserve data and equipment about the origins of the Eaton fire. Edison, in court filings opposing the order, stated the company was already providing attorneys with information and preserving equipment and evidence around the suspected point of origin and a 1-square-mile area in eastern Altadena.