Cause of Deadly L.A. Wildfire Is Finally Found

A devastating blaze that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 buildings in Los Angeles County last year was started by electrical sparks coming off a utility company tower. The tower belonged to Southern California Edison and was out of service when it sparked the Eaton fire, which tore through the Altadena neighborhood. Edison had previously acknowledged that its equipment most likely started the blaze, but fire officials spent 18 months reviewing evidence to confirm that theory. Video footage showed an “unknown burning material” falling from the tower onto dry vegetation in Eaton Canyon on Jan. 7, 2025, fire officials wrote in a report released Tuesday. The blaze started about 12 seconds later and quickly spread to surrounding neighborhoods. Even before fire officials had finished their report, Edison had committed hundreds of millions of dollars in payments to victims, suggesting it was fairly sure its equipment was responsible. The same week as the Eaton fire, a separate blaze killed 12 people in the Pacific Palisades, bringing the total number of wildfire deaths to 31.

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