Firefighters are investigating whether Southern California Edison utility equipment played a role in the Hurst fire near Sylmar, company officials said.
The company released a report on Friday saying that a conductor that had fallen from the tower near the fire was found, but “does not know if the damage seen happened before or after the fire started.”
The company said, “Firefighters are investigating whether SCE equipment is involved in starting” the fire, and that the investigation is ongoing. Utilities are required to report any time a government agency launches an investigation into whether their equipment caused a wildfire.
Captain Adam Vangerpen, of the Los Angeles Fire Department, confirmed that a “joint investigation” involving various fire and law enforcement agencies is ongoing, but he could not immediately provide additional details on Sunday.
The Hurst Fire — which started Tuesday off Diamond Road in Sylmar — has burned about 800 acres, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It was 89% contained and evacuation orders had been lifted as of Sunday, although firefighting efforts were continuing — focused on “building and improving containment lines with a focus on public safety and building protection,” Cal Fire said.
Three hundred crews remain on the fire, with air tankers flying in to fight the fire “as conditions permit,” Cal Fire said.
SCE earlier said Thursday it had received notices from attorneys representing insurance companies to preserve evidence about the Eaton fire, which burned more than 14,100 acres and devastated Altadena. That fire was 27% contained as of Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire.
An independent analysis shared with The Times showed a significant increase in faults in the electrical grid near three of Los Angeles County’s largest fires – the Hurst, Eaton and Palisades fires – in the hours before the fire started, when strong Santa Ana winds were blowing. .
Faults caused by damaged or dropped power cords or other equipment can cause sparks. Bob Marshall, chief executive officer of Whisker Labs, who provided the information, said he could not say whether faulty sparks caused any of the recent fires.
Utilities have long been the cause of wildfires in the past, including in California, and have been fined and sued for billions of dollars.
In 2021, SCE agreed to pay $550 million in fines and penalties related to the Thomas, Woolsey, Rye, Meyers and Liberty fires, which combined burned more than 380,000 acres and destroyed thousands of homes.
In 2019, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. agreed to pay $13.5 billion to victims of the Northern California wildfires that killed scores of people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses, including in wine country in 2017 and the city of Paradise in 2018.
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