One of two Southern California Edison transmission towers was dismantled and removed Wednesday as part of an investigation into whether the towers played a role in starting the deadly Eaton fire.
Located on a steep hillside in Eaton Canyon, the two towers became a focus for investigators after video from a witness captured what appeared to be flames burning underneath a tower when the fire first ignited on Jan. 7.
The large towers were disassembled into several parts before being flown by a Skycrane helicopter to a nearby landing zone for examination by a team of stakeholders before further disassembly, the utility company said.
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One of two Southern California Edison transmission towers (on left) was dismantled and removed from the site on May 7, 2025, as part of an investigation into whether the towers played a role in the deadly Eaton fire in Altadena. (KTLA) -
A transmission tower was disassembled and airlifted by helicopter to a nearby landing zone for examination and testing on May 7, 2025. (Southern California Edison) -
One of two Southern California Edison transmission towers was dismantled and removed from a steep hillside in Eaton Canyon on May 7, 2025, as part of an investigation into whether the towers played a role in the deadly Eaton fire in Altadena. (KTLA) -
A flare-up is seen at the base of a power line in this screengrab of a video that was purportedly taken mere moments after the Eaton Fire erupted in Altadena on Jan. 7, 2025. (@jeffrey.ku and @cheryllyay on Instagram) -
One of two Southern California Edison transmission towers was dismantled and removed from a steep hillside in Eaton Canyon on May 7, 2025, as part of an investigation into whether the towers played a role in the deadly Eaton fire in Altadena. (KTLA) -
One of two Southern California Edison transmission towers was dismantled and removed from a steep hillside in Eaton Canyon on May 7, 2025, as part of an investigation into whether the towers played a role in the deadly Eaton fire in Altadena. (KTLA)
The transmission tower that was removed Thursday had not been used by SoCal Edison for more than 50 years, but Edison officials told the Los Angeles Times that the tower and the idle line it carried somehow became reenergized the day the fire started.
In an interview with the Times, Pedro Pizarro, Edison International Chief Executive, said the reenergization of the line through a rare phenomenon known as induction is now a leading theory into what sparked the deadly wildfire.
The company reported to state regulators that four lines, including the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line, saw a momentary increase of electrical current around the same time the fire began.
The Eaton fire destroyed more than 9,000 homes and buildings and killed 18 people in the Altadena area.
More than 40 lawsuits from over 600 residents have been filed against SoCal Edison, accusing the utility company of igniting the blaze, the Times reports. In March, L.A. County also filed a lawsuit against the utility company, seeking to recover damage costs.
A report by the New York Times questioned why SoCal Edison didn’t cut power to the area despite being warned about a “major wind event” and “critical fire danger” leading up to the inferno. The report also alleged the power lines were under strain from intensifying winds that reached 100 mph.
“There are criteria for shutting off power for distribution lines which we get and for transmission lines and the winds didn’t meet those criteria,” explained David Eisenhauer, a spokesperson with SoCal Edison.
Eisenhauer said the second transmission tower will be dismantled and removed on Thursday before it’s taken to a warehouse in Irwindale where it will undergo further examination and testing.
“This is all part of our commitment to a thorough and transparent investigation,” Eisenhauer said. “We’re doing this in cooperation and with input from other stakeholders like L.A. County Fire, the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre, and plaintiffs’ attorneys.”
For now, the utility company said it will be focused on moving electrical equipment underground wherever possible.
“We ran every test you can imagine before we attempted to move anything,” said Marc Ferguson, SCE senior manager of Transmission Operations and Helicopter Assisted Line Organization. “Everybody wants to know what happened, whether SCE equipment played a part or not, so we are doing our due diligence to get to the bottom of that. It’s very important to us and the community to get those answers.”