Four Southern California Edison lines over Eaton Canyon saw a momentary increase of electrical current about the same time the destructive Eaton fire is believed to have ignited on Jan. 7, the utility company told state regulators in a filing Monday.
The incident, according to the filing, happened after Edison’s Eagle Rock-Gould line — about five miles away from the suspected start of the fire — experienced a fault, sending the increase of current across the company’s transmission system.
Edison officials in the filing said the current increase “remained within the design limits and operating criteria for these circuits and, as intended, did not trigger system protection on these lines.”
But that equipment is now part of an expanded court order for Southern California Edison to preserve data and equipment that could shed some light as to what exactly caused the blaze.
According to an agreement reached Monday between attorneys representing the utility company and attorneys from the firm Edelson PC, which is representing an Altadena woman who lost her home in the fire, that equipment will remain preserved for at least 21 days so it can be examined.
“It’s not a coincidence,” Ali Moghaddas, an attorney with Edelson PC, said about the close time between the reported fault and the start of the Eaton fire. “That six-mile stretch from the point of origin to the fault, that will remain untouched for 21 days.”
According to the agreement, Edison will preserve and not alter towers and transmission lines for Goodrich-Gould, Eagle Rock-Mesa, Mesa-Vincent No.1, Mesa-Vincent No. 2 and Mesa-Sylmer circuits in Eaton Canyon, all the way to the Gould substation. It will also preserve the Eagle Rock-Gould circuit between the Eagle Rock and Gould substations, which attorneys for the plaintiffs said are connected to the fault disclosed by Edison on Monday.
In court Monday, Edison attorneys initially opposed expansion of a temporary restraining order, which told the company to preserve data and equipment related to the blaze around the suspected point of origin, and a 1-square mile area in eastern Altadena.
Douglas Dixon, an attorney representing Edison, described the request to expand the order as excessive and overly broad, referring to it as “whack-a-mole.”
After a brief recess, attorneys for Edison returned with a proposal to also preserve for 21 days the equipment connected to this fault.
Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokesperson for Edison, said the company’s preliminary investigation revealed no faults or damage to the transmission lines in the Eaton Canyon area.
She added the company has continued to inspect their equipment, including more distant lines interconnected with the system Eaton Canyon, where they discovered the Jan. 7 fault that occurred at about 6:11 p.m.
“However, the impact on the canyon was well within the standard parameters,” Dunleavy said. “This is part of our investigation process.”
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CAL FIRE, the first reports of the fire came in at 6:18 p.m.
Asked if such an incident could cause arcing or sparks in the system five miles away, Dunleavy said incidents like that are common and can be observed in the company’s electric grid.
“We filed the update as part of our commitment to transparency,” she said.
The new court order, and report from Southern California Edison, also comes as the utility giant is continuing to face increased scrutiny over whether its equipment may have played a role in sparking a fire that has burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed more than 9,400 structures, and killed 17 people.
It also comes after one of the firms suing the company, Edelson PC, released a new video that appears to show flashes from the Southern California Edison tower, possible arcing and sparks, just moments before the hillside is ignited, and the fire begins to quickly spread across the canyon and toward homes.
Residents who live near Eaton Canyon electrical towers have shared videos in the past week showing the early flames burning at the base of one of the towers. The video released Sunday, however, appeared to show signs of flashes in the dark hillside where the towers are located. Moments later, the fire appears to begin to burn.
Edison officials shared the video with investigators over the weekend.
An official cause of the fire has not been determined, but investigators have zeroed in on an electrical transmission tower in Eaton canyon that has been examined by fire investigators.
That tower, residents and witnesses told the times, is where the first flames were first spotted at its base.
An investigator with Cal Fire told The Times the area near the tower was being investigated as part of the start of the fire.
The area remained off limits to the utility, fire agencies and the news media until Jan. 16.
The area has remained the focus of the investigation, as billions of dollars could be at stake after the fire leveled entire neighborhoods.
Fire investigators are continuing to look at the area and the electrical equipment.
Last week, Cal Fire investigators also requested data and records from Edison regarding transmission facilities in the area, according to Edison’s filing with the state commission.
