'Conclusive Proof' Of Eaton Fire's Origins Will Cost SCE Billions, Attorneys Claim

LOS ANGELES, CA — As the official investigation continues into the cause of the Eaton Fire, a growing group of lawyers say they have irrefutable evidence that Southern California Edison's electrical equipment sparked the deadly and destructive blaze. One group has enlisted the help of advocate Erin Brockovich as part of its effort to make the utility pay billions.

"This didn't have to happen," Brockovich said Monday in Pasadena. "We've been over it, and over it, and over it — this is utilities' antiquated, failed infrastructure. Everybody in California, including the utilities, you know about the Santa Ana winds, you know about the fire conditions, you know where the problems are on your (electrical) line."

Brockovich — whose legal advocacy was portrayed by Julia Roberts in the 2000 film "Erin Brockovich"— spoke during a Monday afternoon news conference hosted by LA Fire Justice, a group led by attorneys Mikal Watts, and Doug Boxer, known for helping secure enormous payouts from utilities in wildfire lawsuits. They say they plan to repeat that success for victims of the Eaton Fire, which as of Monday had burned more than 14,000 acres, killed at least 17 people and destroyed 9,418 structures, many of them homes.

That comes following the release of surveillance video taken from an Altadena Arco gas station that the attorneys contend shows SCE power lines arcing during the Jan. 7 windstorm, and sparks subsequently falling to the ground. Within minutes, flames can be seen on the hillside.

While several other videos have been publicized that show the blaze's early stages near the power lines over Eaton Canyon, this video is so valuable because it shows what happened before the first flames, Watts said.

"This is conclusive proof as to where the fire started and where it spread," he said.

Attorney Jay Edelson, whose firm released the video over the weekend as part of his work representing fire victims, had a similar response — he called it "the clearest and most damning evidence yet" that SCE equipment sparked the fire.

• Read more: Elite Fire Investigation Team Called In To Determine Palisades Fire's Origin

Despite the certainty with which attorneys are assigning blame to Edison, neither the utility — nor government officials — are ready to do the same.

"That video requires thorough analysis, and it would be irresponsible for anyone to comment on the footage until it has gone through expert review," SCE spokesman David Eisenhauer said.

Investigators working to determine the cause of the fire have been previously seen working in the area of the SCE transmission lines. The utility has said that transmission lines on the east side of Eaton Canyon were still energized the night the fire erupted, although distribution lines on the west side were powered off. SCE chief executive Steven Powell told the Los Angeles Times that the winds were not considered strong enough to warrant de-energizing the transmission line.

SCE previously denied any claims that their infrastructure caused the fire. The company has also claimed a nearby campfire could have led to the disaster. But in a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission, the company later acknowledged there was a fault detected on its transmission line.

As part of his group's investigation into the fire, Watts said a team of investigators are gathering videos and conducting interviews — and "the eyewitness accounts (are) weaving in perfectly with the fault data," he said.

One of the crown jewels in his strategy is what he says is a digital recreation of the fire's origin. The team created a 3D model of the area using those eyewitness videos and photos — taken at various times — combined with GPS data and scans of the area using a technology called photogrammetry, he said.

"We're just going and reconstructing the fire second by second, minute by minute, as it begins to head down the hill to where it incinerated this entire town," he said.

Boxer and Watts said they used the technology in cases that helped secure $5.5 billion in settlements for victims of the 2017 Tubbs Fire from Pacific Gas & Electric in Northern California and over $4 billion from several plaintiffs for victims of the 2023 Maui fires.

With estimates for the cost of the Eaton Fire ranging from $10 billion to $30 billion, Watts said he's ready to hold SCE accountable for the fire.

"This is my 22nd wildfire. I've represented 21,000 fire survivors in six different states," Watts said. "This is the clearest evidence that I've ever seen of utilities' equipment being the start of a fire."

City News Service contributed to this report.