By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-18 03:16:58 | Updated at 2025-03-18 07:39:05
4 hours ago
The deadly Eaton Fire that tore through the hills of Los Angeles for several days in January may have been started by a defunct 'zombie' power line - one that was no longer carrying electricity or even connected to the grid.
Southern California Edison is now scrambling to determine whether the idle transmission line which sparked the fire that destroyed the neighborhood of Altadena, where 17 people lost their lives, somehow reawakened in the night.
Scientists believe that a phenomenon known as induction whereby a current is formed through electromagnetic force that is generated by other high-voltage transmission lines running close by.
Even an idle power line can be affected as it absorbs small amounts of electricity.
For days, investigators at the power company Southern California Edison (SCE) were convinced that their power lines hadn't caused the catastrophe.
The company had scoured the area examining their active lines and found no evidence of downed wires, broken equipment, or faults in the electrical system.
It seemed like an open-and-shut case but then, something unsettling emerged a photos and videos began circulating, showing flames licking at the base of a power line.
But the line was a relic and had been out of service for 53 years without any connection to the power grid, yet the 'zombie' line appeared to have come back from the dead.
The deadly Eaton Fire that tore through the hills of Los Angeles for several days in January may have been started by a 'zombie' power line - one that was no longer carrying electricity or even connected to the grid
Debris is seen at the site of a home that burned down during the Eaton wildfire - one of more than 6,000 homes
A home burns during the Eaton Fire on January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. Powerful Santa Ana winds pushed the fire across more than 10,000 acres in less than 24 hours
'We certainly have a lot of attention and focus on the induction theory,' Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro said to the Wall Street Journal. 'Because it was not connected to anything, then induction ends up being a leading hypothesis.'
Investigators are now looking into whether this forgotten power line unwittingly became the cause of the catastrophe.
The Eaton Fire ignited on January 7, in the wooded hills of Eaton Canyon, just east of Altadena.
The winds were howling that night as dry desert air flowed into the area.
But in the moments before the first flames were sparked, something strange happened.
A live transmission line outside the canyon suffered a disruption resulting in a sudden surge of electricity.
That surge may have amped up the electromagnetic field surrounding the idle power line, creating a deadly, invisible chain reaction.
The grounding equipment designed to keep that dormant line harmless had suffered damage - although how and when remains unknown.
A view of flames at the mountain as seen from Topanga Canyon near Pacific Palisades in Topanga, Los Angeles, California, United States on January 9, 2025. A fast-moving wildfire has forced 180,000 people to evacuate, with officials warning that worsening winds could further escalate the blaze. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Firefighters water down smoky embers as the fire ravaged a school in Altadena, California, where the devastating Eaton Fire caused widespread damage
But what is clear is that soon after, flames burst to life beneath the idle line.
Videos obtained by lawyers representing the fire's victims show eerie flashes of light near one of the line's support towers, just moments before the inferno exploded across the canyon.
The footage may have captured the exact moment the line came alive and a lifeless wire suddenly sparked that set 14,000 acres ablaze destroying over 6,000 homes.
'It's time to be able to do more specific analysis of the equipment itself,' Pizarro said to WSJ. 'If we see something that gives us that missing link, we're going to say so right away.'
Driven by gale-force winds the the Eaton Fire it leapt across dry brush and into neighborhoods within minutes, giving families almost no time to react.
Some barely escaped with their lives but others were not so lucky.
When the smoke finally cleared, 17 lives had been lost and an entire community reduced to smoldering rubble.
The staggering loss made the fire the second-most destructive in California history.
SCE, a subsidiary of Edison International, is now bracing for the lawsuits ahead.
The company could be forced to dip into California's $21 billion wildfire liability fund but only if it can prove to regulators that its maintenance of the idle power line met industry standards. If not, it could be left to shoulder the astronomical costs alone.
Adding to the pressure, Los Angeles County has already filed a lawsuit to recover what could be hundreds of millions of dollars in fire recovery costs.
Lawyers are actively recruiting fire victims with lawsuits are mounting by the day.
SoCal Edison transmission towers stand in an area which burned during the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California. Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit last week alleging that Southern California Edison's electrical equipment caused the Eaton Fire, which left 17 people dead
Flames are seem emanating from a mountain, as seen from Topanga Canyon in Los Angeles
Firefighters work the scene as an apartment building burns during the Eaton fire in the Altadena area of Los Angeles county, California on January 8, 2025. 17 people were killed
An Army Corps of Engineers team clears debris from a home that burned down during the Eaton wildfire as recovery efforts continue in Altadena, California, pictured last week
Perhaps most worryingly of all is that there is no known figure on just how many more 'zombie' power lines are still out there.
SCE alone has more than 465 miles of transmission lines that are no longer in use, and there has been no regulatory mandate to remove them.
Many were left standing simply because dismantling them was too expensive.
Others were kept in place under the assumption they might someday be used again.
But after the Eaton Fire, the industry is waking up to the reality that these forgotten power lines may not be as lifeless as they seem.
California regulators have been here before. In 2019, the massive Kincade Fire in Northern California was sparked by a decommissioned PG&E transmission line that should have been removed but wasn't.
6,000 homes in Altadena were destroyed in the Eaton fire
More than 9,000 structures are believed to have been razed in the Eaton fire alone
Energy company Edison International is being sued over a possible link to one of the wildfires
In that case, the line was still technically connected to the grid. The oversight cost PG&E dearly, leading to a $40 million fine.
'We probably didn't see insights there at that point in time that would have led to different steps here with our de-energized idle lines,' Pizarro admitted. 'Now that we've gone through this experience, we are taking a look at that.'
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) is also conducting its own independent investigation but it may take months before a formal conclusion is reached.
SCE has also announced the immediate inspections of its idle lines, desperate to prevent another catastrophe.
