Electrical tower eyed as possible source of deadly Eaton Fire

An electrical tower in Eaton Canyon is being investigated as the possible origin of the deadly fire that shares its name.

According to the Los Angeles Times, investigators from CalFire are looking at an electrical transmission tower where the first flames from the Eaton Fire were apparently spotted.

“Video and images from four residents and obtained by the The Times appeared to show that before the Eaton fire exploded … the first flames of the fire burned behind Pasadena homes, at the base of a nearby electrical tower,” the Times reports.

Several of those witnesses have been interviewed by law enforcement, the newspaper added.

The electrical tower is owned by Southern California Edison, although the utility has said it does not believe its equipment sparked the blaze.

A Jan. 9 incident report from SCE reported no “electrical or operational anomalies” at the site until more than an hour after the fire had already began to rage.

“To date, no fire agency has suggested that SCE’s electric facilities were involved in the ignition or requested the removal and retention of any SCE equipment,” the incident report reads.

It will likely take months before investigators are able to definitively state the cause of the Eaton Fire, which has scorched more than 14,000 acres and claimed at least 11 lives.

Investigators have been making regular trips up the mountain to the site of the electrical tower, which has been closed off to the media, as well as firefighters and the utility itself.

“Nobody is allowed up there besides investigators,” CalFire investigator Wayne Howerton told the LA Times. “It’s currently an investigation into the start of the Eaton fire.”