Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic candidate for Michigan governor, visits his Detroit field office to thank all of the volunteers for their hard work on the campaign, Aug.7, 2018, in Detroit. (Clarence Tabb Jr./Detroit News via AP, File)

2026-08-04T17:31:13Z

The deadly 2025 Eaton Fire in Los Angeles was caused by Southern California Edison equipment, fire officials say.

Los Angeles County Fire officials said in a report released Tuesday that the cause of the fire that killed 19 people and destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 homes and businesses was a tower that was not in service.

“After 18 months of thorough review of all evidence, alongside retained electrical and metallurgical experts, the investigation concluded that the cause of the wildfire conflagration was due to the electrical arcing events that took place on the out-of-service Southern California Edison (SCE) tower,” the agency said in a statement.

It took firefighters nearly a month to extinguish the blaze, which scorched 22 square miles (57 square kilometers). SoCal Edison has claimed in lawsuits earlier this year that Los Angeles County agencies failed to send timely evacuation warnings to residents in east and west Altadena. Eighteen of the 19 people who died in the fire lived in west Altadena.

The utility also has claimed water agencies, including Pasadena Water and Power, did not provide enough water as the fire spread, leaving firefighters with limited resources. Los Angeles County declined to comment about the latest court filings.

The Eaton Fire burned at the same time as the Palisades Fire, the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles to date and among the five worst in California’s history. The blaze killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 homes and buildings in Pacific Palisades. The fire ripped through hillside neighborhoods, destroying mansions with spectacular ocean views.

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The man accused of sparking the Palisades Fire will be tried again this fall after his first federal arson case ended in a mistrial in June. Prosecutors said Jonathan Rinderknecht used a barbecue lighter on Jan. 1, 2025 to spark a blaze that burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up Jan. 7.

AMY TAXIN





Taxin writes about food, farming and water in California for The Associated Press. She covers coastal issues and general news from California’s Orange County.















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