One of the largest fires of Los Angeles‘s January 2025 deadly wildfire burn was caused by a malfunction at an out-of-service electrical tower, Los Angeles and California fire investigators determined.
The Eaton fire, which was the second-largest wildfire of Los Angeles’s deadly 2025 fires, killed 19 people as it engulfed over 14,000 acres in the Altadena area of the county. The Los Angeles Fire Department released the findings Tuesday from its Arson Fire Investigation Unit, as well as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s investigation into the Eaton fire.
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“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 Los Angeles County Fire Department wrote in a Tuesday press release.
Electrical arcing occurs when an electrical current travels outside of its normal track, according to the National Fire Protection Association. The report summary says that after the arcing event, “an unknown burning material” fell from the tower, igniting a fuel bed underneath.
The initial spark occurred on Jan. 7, 2025, during a Red Flag Warning from the National Weather Service. The Eaton fire burned for 24 days until firefighters fully contained the blaze on Jan. 31, 2025.
A spokesperson for Southern California Edison told the Associated Press that the company was reviewing the investigation report and noted that the company had previously admitted that “it was likely our equipment was associated with the ignition of the Eaton Fire.” The company launched a “Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program” in October 2025 to help compensate communities affected by the Eaton fire.
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“We have taken our potential role in the start of this fire seriously from the very beginning,” the Southern California Edison spokesperson told the outlet.
The company announced in September 2025 that it would launch the compensation program, after groups ranging from the U.S. Department of Justice to the city of Pasadena sued over the wildfire last year.
