The video adds to the investigation of the Edison tower as the place where the Eaton fire started

The video provides new evidence that suggests the massive Eaton fire may have started at a Southern California Edison transmission tower shortly after a blue-white light flashed near electrical equipment.

Over the past few weeks, residents who live near the tower have shared videos and photos of large flames at the base of the building in Eaton Canyon just as the fire started just after 6pm on Jan. 7.

Those residents told The Times they were certain this was how the fire – which killed 17 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings – started.

On Sunday, one of the law firms suing Edison, Edelson PC, released edited video it says appears to show blue arcing in the canyon.

The video, taken less than a kilometer from the site of the suspected fire, shows strong winds blowing through the area and, in the distance, a flash of light on a dark hillside. The lights come on suddenly. Edelson’s lawyers allege that the video shows arcing, and sparks falling from the dry hillside.

After a few minutes of flashes of light, the hill starts to burn.

Edison’s spokesperson said the company received the video on Saturday night and an investigation must be completed with all the evidence before the cause of the fire can be determined.

“It’s too early to comment or for anyone to come to any conclusions until experts have fully reviewed the video,” said Kathleen Dunleavy, an Edison spokeswoman.

On Saturday, Edison officials contacted investigators to confirm they had the video, he said.

Edison officials said they do not believe their electrical equipment caused the fire, and that early tests of the equipment showed no signs of arcing or power interruption.

“No one knows what caused the Eaton fire,” Dunleavy said.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection investigators working to determine the cause of the fire declined to comment on their investigation. But a Cal Fire investigator told The Times on Jan. 11 that the area near the transmission line is closed due to the investigation of the “early Eaton fire.”

The attorney said the video, which was first reported early Sunday in the New York Times, adds to the evidence pointing to the transmission tower.

“This is the clearest and most damning evidence yet — real-time video from a gas station security camera showing Southern California Edison power lines catching fire,” Jay Edelson, the law firm’s founder, said in a statement. “It’s only luck that this picture exists.”

The Eaton Fire was fueled by strong winds that pushed the flames from Eaton Canyon west to neighboring areas across Altadena, creating a large swath of the community.

In a statement, Edison previously said distribution lines west of Eaton Canyon lost power before the fire started. However, the utility also has transmission lines on the east side of the canyon that are always powered.

The chief executive of Southern California Edison told The Times this month that the winds were not strong enough to shut down the power transmission line. Steven Powell said that, in general, winds would have to be 60 to 80 mph for the company to consider powering the transmission lines, adding that Edison’s reading was less than that.

The National Weather Service recorded wind gusts just before the fire started at 59 mph at Edison’s Eaton Canyon monitoring station, which is south of the transmission line at the end of Eaton Canyon Park. High gusts were recorded at that site before and after, according to weather service data: 63 mph at 2:20 pm and 70 mph at 9:30 pm It’s unclear what the wind reading was at the tower, which is located in the mountains. the ravine.

Last week, Edison notified attorneys suing the company that a camp was found 300 yards downhill from the suspected arson site. Lawyers suing the company told The Times that the distance from where it was allegedly moved made it an unlikely cause of the fire.

At least 20 lawsuits have been filed against the company, accusing it of starting the fire.

With thousands of homes destroyed, the cost of the latest fires is believed to be in the billions, raising the stakes as firefighters, Edison, lawyers and citizens look to determine what caused the fire.

Much of the cost can be absorbed by the state’s Wildfire Fund but it can still prove costly to Edison if a fire is caused by the agency’s electrical equipment.

Lawyers suing the company asked the judge to order the company to keep the data and equipment. Last week, a judge granted a temporary restraining order, telling Edison to store evidence and equipment near the suspected source of the fire and a square-mile area east of Altadena.

Edison’s lawyers opposed the request in court, saying there was no need for an order because the company had been keeping evidence and equipment. Edison said it was also documenting repairs and replacements of equipment in an “archive” with photos and videos.

Attorneys suing the company said they asked Edison to take down the wires from the transmission towers above Eaton Canyon.

Alexander Robertson, whose company Robertson & Associates filed a lawsuit against Edison, said his company asked to test the wires because the aluminum wires can be tested for damage, pointing to arcing.

Robertson said Edison’s attorneys told him the decommissioning process could take months, which he called “unacceptable.”