What caused the fatal wildfires in California? Investigators take into account a variety of options.
The massive fires that have destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area and killed at least 16 people have investigators looking at a variety of potential ignition sources.
Authorities have located the source of the wind-whipped fire behind a property on Piedra Morada Drive, which is situated above a heavily forested arroyo, in the hilly, affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which is home to Hollywood celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost homes in the fire.
The National Fire Protection Association reports that lightning is the most frequent cause of fires in the United States, but investigators were able to immediately rule it out. The Palisades region and the landscape surrounding the Eaton Fire, which began in east Los Angeles County and has damaged hundreds of houses, did not report any lightning activity.
The next two most frequent causes are utility line-sparked fires and purposefully started fires.
The size and extent of the fire doesn’t alter the methodology for determining its cause, according to John Lentini, owner of Scientific Fire Analysis in Florida, who has examined significant fires in California, including the Oakland Hills Fire in 1991.
According to Lentini, “this was once a small fire.” “People will concentrate on identifying the fire’s origin, tracing its path, and determining its cause.”
Neither fire has been officially linked to arson as of yet, and power wires have not been found to be the cause.
When utilities become aware of “electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire,” they must notify the California Public Utilities Commission, according to an email from Terrie Prosper, the commission’s communications director. After that, CPUC employees look at whether state law was broken.
Investigators found that Southern California Edison power lines colliding with high wind caused the 2017 Thomas Fire, one of the biggest disasters in the state’s history. In addition to burning about 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers), the fire claimed two lives.
Southern California Edison reported the Eaton Fire in the hills close to Pasadena, which is inside its service region, to the CPUC on Friday.
After receiving alerts from insurance company lawyers to preserve evidence, Edison submitted the report to state utility regulators out of “an abundance of caution,” even though it had not received any indications that its equipment was involved in starting the fire.
The utility stated, “SCE’s preliminary analysis of electrical circuit information for the energized transmission lines passing through the area for 12 hours before the reported start time of the fire shows no interruptions or electrical or operational anomalies until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire.”
Although the most frequent causes are lightning, arson, and electric lines, other frequent causes include fireworks and burning garbage.
However, a variety of things, including accidents, can start a fire.
In 2021, a couple’s gender reveal prank ignited a massive fire that destroyed five homes and fifteen other buildings, burned nearly 36 square miles (approximately 90 square kilometers) of land, and killed firefighter Charlie Morton.
On Friday, there was still minimal control of the Eaton and Palisades fires. As the fires spread across miles of arid terrain, the winds weakened but no rain was predicted.
“When the weather stops or the fuel runs out, it will go out,” Lentini stated. “That thing won’t be released until it’s ready to be released.”
