The Brief

Days after the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles first ignited, firefighters observed that power lines operated by Southern California Edison were live and starting new fires, radio traffic obtained by NPR reveals.

The radio communications also indicate the utility company failed to respond quickly to multiple requests from firefighters to shut power off and sent confusing and sometimes incorrect information to first responders working on the Eaton Fire, which ultimately claimed 17 lives and caused billions of dollars in damages.

The new audio evidence comes after video and voltage data linked transmission towers operated by SoCal Edison to the fire's initial start on Jan. 7 and multiple lawsuits have been filed that claim the company is liable for fire damages.

The Eaton Fire took more than three weeks to fully contain, burning 14,000 acres and more than 10,000 structures. NPR downloaded and analyzed almost 100 hours of radio traffic between firefighters responding to the Eaton Fire from broadcastify.com, a live audio streaming platform. The audio suggests SoCal Edison's work in affected areas during the fire played a role in slowing down firefighting efforts.

"I'd like to see if we can get Edison out and have them assess, see what we can do about cutting power to everything north of Sierra Madre from Baldwin Avenue all the way to the west," said a firefighter just after midnight, on Jan. 8.

The Sierra Madre location the firefighter was referring to was located below the perimeter of the Eaton Fire that morning, a firefighter operations map obtained by NPR shows. But SoCal Edison wasn't able to turn the power off there right away.

"I just met with Edison's reps. They're not going to be able to guarantee shutdown in here," a firefighter radioed at 1:05 a.m., about seven hours after the Eaton Fire first started. "They're short on manpower, so we're just going to have to treat everything as live and be heads up."

When high winds and dry conditions whip up a wildfire, power lines with electricity running through them can cause problems by sparking or falling down. Wildfires are also spread and fed by other natural causes, like flying embers. But live power lines are dangerous for first responders on the ground — and they can start new fires quickly.

"If they spark an arc, if the wind's blowing that spark and hits palm fronds that are all dried out, that'll start a fire quick, especially when the winds are blowing," said Sheila Kelliher, a fire captain with the LA County Fire Department. "It's all it takes."

Residents walk past homes burnt by the Eaton Fire in Altadena on Jan. 8.

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Robyn Beck

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By the end of the day on Jan. 8, firefighters were asking SoCal Edison to shut power off to a second neighborhood — Altadena. Most of the 17 people who died in the Eaton Fire died there.

At around 10 p.m., weather conditions in Altadena were risky.

"The combination of low humidity, dry fuels, and shifting winds has heightened the potential for spot fires and rapid expansion," firefighters wrote in an incident report obtained by NPR.

But despite the high danger, first responders indicated on radio traffic that SoCal Edison was not able to shut power off quickly in Altadena, either.

"From our SoCal Edison contact, these wires are to be considered energized, even wires that are down," a firefighter in Altadena confirmed at 10:47 p.m. on the radio channel. "They currently do not have a plan to mitigate this issue tonight, they are looking at handling this tomorrow morning."

Michael Wara, an attorney and research scholar at Stanford University, said he was shocked to hear SoCal Edison didn't respond quicker.

"Edison has a responsibility to be available to emergency responders in these contexts. And their emergency operations center was active," Wara said. "And so it's surprising that they would say that they cannot assist emergency responders during a situation like that."

SoCal Edison declined NPR's request for an interview. Over the phone, a spokesperson, Kathleen Dunleavy, said the company was "adequately staffed for the event."

Some of the information regarding power shutoffs during the Eaton Fire should be public knowledge. Energy companies in California are supposed to submit reports to a state commission detailing when power was turned off to protect the public, and when it was turned back on. Those reports are required to be submitted within 10 days of the end of the shutoff — and one of the first Eaton Fire shutoffs started on Jan. 7.

But the website that publicly displays those reports does not include any from SoCal Edison about the Eaton Fire, NPR found. "That's because we haven't filed them yet," confirmed Dunleavy, the company spokesperson.

Southern California Edison workers service a utility pole in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena on Jan. 12.

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Power lines lead to "new starts"

On the morning of Jan. 10, two days after the radio traffic showed that firefighters asked Edison to shut the power off in Altadena, firefighters reported electricity sparking on lines in the neighborhood.

"Eaton operations, reports of down power lines, arcing behind 1946 Altadena Drive," a firefighter radioed at around 9:30 a.m.

Later that afternoon, another firefighter again noticed arcing lines in Altadena — and observed new fires breaking out near the fire's perimeter.

"I got an emergent situation, right now looks like there is re-energizing power lines in the Zulu area, which is causing a lot of lines that are down to start arcing and we're getting new starts over there," the firefighter said. "Can you confirm with Edison if they are charging lines and if they are, we'll need to stop for a bit?"

SoCal Edison's staff and equipment aren't the only reasons that power lines could have had electricity running through them. Some people use generators to power their homes. Those generators can re-energize lines if they're incorrectly connected to power systems, and that's what SoCal Edison told firefighters was happening.

"Just got off the phone with Edison," a firefighter radioed at 2:23 p.m. "They have confirmed they are not re-energizing anything and he has confirmed that people are using generators to repower themselves."

Shortly after that message was sent, the radio traffic shows a fire started at a house on Lincoln Avenue — right inside the "Zulu" area where firefighters had just observed that the power was on.

The structure had downed wires on top of it, first responders stressed.

But it wasn't the generators that were responsible for powering the lines.

"Just confirmed with Edison units on the ground, these lines are live. They have recharged the lines," a firefighter said at 2:53 p.m.

"Copy, they being the residents with generators, correct?" another first responder asked.

"Negative, SoCal Edison, representative on the ground, troublemen have charged the lines," the first firefighter answered. "They're circuit testing."

SoCal Edison's CEO, Pedro Pizarro, has said the company is looking into the possibility that its equipment was involved with starting the Eaton Fire. But the audio communications NPR unearthed indicate there was also a breakdown in protocol regarding action after a wildfire begins, Wara said.

"Edison is accountable for making sure that there aren't problems before they turn the power back on," said Wara. "If you've got down lines and you reenergize the system, you're going to start new fires, which is what the firefighters are describing."
Copyright 2025 NPR

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Mexico took advantage of a defensive blunder by South Korea to win 1-0 and become the first team to advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup on Thursday.

It marks a major triumph for a team that failed to get out of the group stage in 2022 and now has won twice on home soil in front of jubilant crowds.

Luis Romo scored in the 50th minute after South Korea goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu collided with defender Lee Gi-hyuk and dropped the ball inside the area. Romo easily found the open net after picking up the loose ball.

The South Koreans nearly equalized in the 87th minute when Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel stopped a header from close range by Cho Gue-sung, then made an even better save on the rebound, extending his right arm to keep the ball from crossing the line.

Mexico has six points from two Group A matches, three more than South Korea and five more than the Czech Republic and South Africa, who drew 1-1 earlier Thursday in Atlanta.

The top two teams from each group move on to the knockout stage, along with the best eight third-place teams. A round of 32 is being played for the first time at the World Cup after the tournament was expanded to 48 teams.

Los Angeles city housing officials are pushing back on allegations from the outgoing city attorney, who claims that a legal aid provider has failed to comply with its taxpayer-funded contract to help tenants avoid eviction.

At stake in the dispute is $177 million — approved months ago by the mayor and City Council but still awaiting the city attorney’s signature — to help renters stay housed.

For more than a year, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has refused to authorize new long-term funding for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, or LAFLA. On Thursday, she told LAist the delay was due to the nonprofit’s alleged failure to account for how it spends city funds.

“They didn't comply with the monthly reporting that they were supposed to do,” Feldstein Soto said. “They still haven't done so.”

LAFLA leaders strongly disputed those claims, saying they have provided detailed accountings of their caseloads and tenant outcomes. Barbara Schultz, LAFLA’s housing director, told LAist her organization has fully complied with the terms of its contract.

“After months of highly unusual investigations, document requests and audits that extend well beyond the scope of [the city attorney’s] office, she has failed to identify any misconduct — because there isn't any,” Schultz said.

Officials with the L.A. Housing Department also told LAist the contract monitoring and reporting requirements have been upheld.

“LAFLA has complied with every request for information put forth by LAHD,” said department spokesperson Sharon Sandow. “Like all new programs, tracking and information systems have been improved as the program has matured over the past five years. LAFLA provided the information requested.”

City attorney’s dispute with legal aid group runs deeps

Feldstein Soto has frequently clashed with LAFLA. Separate from its tenant defense work, the organization has joined lawsuits against the city over its homelessness policies.

Feldstein Soto has objected to giving LAFLA city funds, telling council members in a confidential memo earlier this year that the city should “reconsider the award of such a large contract to a frequent litigant against the city.”

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, LAFLA has led Stay Housed L.A., a city- and county-funded effort to provide eviction defense, rent relief and other aid to tenants at risk of losing their housing.

The city has also tasked LAFLA with scaling up the city’s “Right To Counsel” ordinance, which provides free attorneys to qualified low-income renters facing eviction. Statistics show that landlords almost always have attorneys in eviction proceedings, but renters rarely come to court with lawyers of their own.

Last year, Feldstein Soto rejected a new five-year contract with the organization, saying any further funding should have gone through a competitive bidding process. The city responded by opening up a new call for submissions. Officials ultimately selected the Legal Aid Foundation to continue eviction defense services. The City Council and mayor approved that contract in April.

But Feldstein Soto has continued to withhold her signature. On Monday, she issued a report detailing why she has delayed the contract with LAFLA, as well as contracts with other tenant aid groups slated to receive funding for rent relief programs, enforcement of the city’s ordinance against tenant harassment and tenant rights education programs.

Feldstein Soto’s report included a series of audits of LAFLA from the Harrington Group, an independent accounting firm. When LAist asked if she had identified any evidence of impropriety in those audits, representatives for her office did not respond.

Data on tenant outcomes

Feldstein Soto said she believes information provided by LAFLA is insufficient to determine how many eviction cases involving city funding went to court, what the outcomes were or the average cost per case.

“The funds that we provided have not been accounted for properly in any way, shape or form,” Feldstein Soto said.

On Wednesday, the city’s housing department published a report saying Stay Housed L.A. has assisted tenants in 27,273 eviction cases, including 6,522 cases in which tenants were fully represented by a lawyer throughout their legal proceedings.

Over the last four years, 53% of fully represented tenants stayed in their homes, according to the report. Another 41% were able to negotiate agreements in which their landlords gave them more time to move out, forgave their overdue rent or sealed their eviction record. Less than 3% of tenants lost their case in court.

Much of the funding for the tenant aid contracts comes from the city’s so-called “mansion tax,” which could soon be scaled back by the city’s voters in a potential November ballot measure.

What comes next? 

Schultz said if city leaders are not satisfied with the accounting, they could ask for a formal audit through the City Controller’s Office. Feldstein Soto launched an audit of LAFLA last year, but has not released any findings so far. She told LAist more information could be coming soon.

“I am likely to file both a public report and a confidential report with my client, because you can't just gift away public funds without an audit trail and without transparency and accountability,” Feldstein Soto said.

Meanwhile, tenant advocates say smaller legal aid nonprofits that receive city funding as subcontractors are in danger of running out of money soon. Lawyers could be laid off and tenants could become homeless if funding is not approved quickly, they argue.

Schultz said the City Council may need to look for ways to approve the funding without the involvement of Feldstein Soto, who recently came in third place in the June primary election. She will not advance to the general election for a second term.

“I think that the council should definitely look at — if they had a rogue city attorney that refused to follow their directions — what other avenues they could explore,” Schultz said.

City Council members have introduced a motion calling on the city attorney’s office to explain the delay. That request was supposed to come up for a vote in a housing committee meeting this week, but it was ultimately canceled due to an earlier meeting of the full City Council that ran hours over schedule.

When I visited Taqueria Hoy in Orange, owner Rafael De Anda couldn’t wait to get home to watch Mexico kick off its World Cup stint. After decades at the helm of his taco shop — he first started it as a food truck and now has brick-and-mortar locations in Orange, Santa Ana and Anaheim — he could put his feet up and relax. The business was in good hands.

His sons, Raphael V. De Anda, 34, and Christian De Anda, 30, had been working at the taqueria since childhood. But when Rafael De Anda was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2011 and battling the disease, the young men took over the complete running of the business — with their father still an integral part.

While I get a lot of emails pitching stories for LAist, rarely does a story materialize from one of them. But when Raphael De Anda emailed me about Taqueria Hoy, including a video that captured the warmth of his and his brother’s relationship with their father, it quickly piqued my interest.

In it they are quick to praise him for his work ethic and the lessons he’s imparted to them. In honor of Father’s Day, we’re celebrating those lessons here.

Rafael De Anda makes tacos at his taqueria in Orange.

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Lesson No. 1: Keep it simple and do it well

Rafael De Anda is from Arandas in Jalisco, and crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 1974. A few years into life in the Santa Ana area, he realized there was no good taqueria around, unless you drove to Los Angeles or San Diego. And so Taqueria De Anda was born in the 80s, before it was rebranded to Taqueria Hoy in 2020.

He says he wanted the tacos to taste just like the ones he used to have every day.  ”If you eat my tacos here, if you go to any part of Mexico, it will have to be the same,” he explained.

Taqueria Hoy has a straightforward menu, offering the usual carne asada, al pastor, pollo, chorizo and carnitas, along with cabeza (cheek) and lengua (tongue), the most tender cuts of beef.

Cabeza and carne asada tacos adorned with the Taqueria Hoy's green and red salsas.

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Cooking the meats to perfection, he says, and keeping the quality consistently good keeps people keep coming back — sometimes spanning generations.

It's one of his first lessons for his sons: Keep it simple but do it well. “ If you're not gonna eat them, don't sell it.”

That philosophy even extends to their red and green Hoysioso salsas, made in-house with high quality ingredients.

Only three people in the world know the recipe — Rafael De Anda and his two sons. And the sons have promised to make the condiment just the way he taught them.

Lesson No. 2: Honor your customers and staff

“ We just started making tacos and that's it,” Rafael De Anda said, never expecting for the business to last more than forty years. "We were busy and then we just kept going and going.”

He and his sons credit that to their customer base. Some of them are the great grandsons of those first customers, according to Raphael De Anda.

 ”We're very grateful to the community that has accepted us and that has allowed us to continue to serve tacos for all these years,” he said.

Some of the workers at Taqueria Hoy have been with Rafael De Anda for decades.

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That love for their customer base also extends to their workers. Some have been at the taco shop for decades. Raphael De Anda said his father was a father figure to many, including those who crossed the border when they were young. He’d nurture them and help them get settled in the United States.

“He didn't only have two boys. He had many, many children,” Raphael De Anda said.

Lesson No. 3: Trust your kids

Now I love my father, but I cannot imagine working directly alongside him. I'm open and friendly at work, the type of person who would bake cupcakes for my colleagues' kids. My dad, on the other hand, would never hang out with someone outside of the office. Two different generations, two very different upbringings. One was raised in a strict all-boys Catholic school in Sri Lanka, another in an international school in Sharjah, UAE.

But while Rafael De Anda had a very different upbringing to his sons — him in Jalisco, his sons as American-born citizens who went to Chapman University — he's been open to their ideas and approaches.

They have taken to social media, using Instagram to explain how taqueros make carne asada, show off their heart shaped takeout containers for Valentine’s Day, and share collaborative posts with influencers.

“ Their way of approaching the business has been a little switching to the modern culture,” Rafael De Anda said. “I like it, that's something that I would not be able to do, to be honest.”

He adds that he keeps a close eye on what they are doing. “And to be honest, I'm proud of them,” Rafael De Anda said, uttering the magical words every kid wants to hear from their immigrant parents.

Lesson No. 4: Life isn't complicated. We're the ones who complicate it

Raphael De Anda said his father has instilled in his brother and him the importance of focusing on the task at hand rather than worrying too much about the future.

 "Sometimes my brother and I will talk with my Dad. "Hey, what do the projections look like for this year?" he said. "My Dad's like "well, it doesn't really matter. As long as we take care of what we're doing now, things will work out."

And Raphael De Anda said it always does end up working out.

Lesson No. 5: I do what I can with what I am given

Their father was not one to live in the future, and neither did he spend time worrying, his sons said.

"Instead of saying, "Oh, woe is me. I wish I had more customers", Raphael De Anda said, his father would focus on the customers he had.

"How do we treat them the best we can?"

Growth happened organically. Their father found the Santa Ana location through a conversation with a regular customer who was selling his billiards shop.

"The owner said, "We care for you so much and your presence, you've meant so much to the community. We want to offer you to buy the building first," recounted Raphael De Anda.

And he did.

Lesson No. 6: Be honest with yourself before you can be honest with others

The sons grew up hearing their father reiterate the message of staying true and authentic.

" Don't change who you are for others and that mantra is also carried through in everything we do here at the restaurant," said Raphael De Anda.

Birria, for example, is a popular offering at taquerias across Southern California. But, it's not something on offer at Taqueria Hoy.

 "That's not who we are. We have to be honest that we are a taco and burrito makers first," Raphael De Anda said.

And the burritos at Taqueria Hoy are massive.

And for some parting wisdom from Rafael De Anda, "How do you eat a big burrito? One bite at a time."

The World Cup has officially taken over Los Angeles, and not without controversy.

Fans have voiced frustration over ticket pricing and questions linger over whether the Iranian football team should be playing in the tournament.

Listen: Should Iran be playing at SoFi? Listeners weigh in as tentative US-Iran deal is announced

The man at the center of these decisions and how fans in Southern California are experiencing the World Cup is FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Here's why he's the most influential voice in soccer right now.

How he got elected

The election of Infantino followed one of the worst corruption scandals in sports history. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted more than a dozen FIFA officials and executives on charges of bribery, money laundering and wire fraud.

Swiss authorities launched an additional investigation, which led to former FIFA President Sepp Blatter's resignation. He had held the position since 1998.

Following the corruption scandal, Congress passed a reform package, but criticism remains over lack of follow through.

Part of Infantino's success has been built on his ability to boost revenue for FIFA over the years.

Ticket pricing, human rights and other critiques

Getting in on the World Cup games here in L.A. has likely been... expensive.

And that's been one of the biggest critiques of Infantino as matches approached and FIFA announced ticket pricing would adjust based on demand. Infantino has defended the pricing method, comparing it to other major American sporting events.

Coaches, players and fans are also split on FIFA's decision to add three-minute mandated hydration breaks to matches, according to Reuters.

Infantino has also been criticized for downplaying concerns over human rights. For example, the Guardian reported in 2021 that more than 6,500 migrant workers died in Qatar during the 10-year lead up to it hosting the World Cup in 2022.

Oliver Kay, The Athletic's senior soccer writer, said during a conversation on LAist 89.3's AirTalk that Infantino's legacy is complicated and leaves true soccer fans with questions.

" How many of these decisions are being made for the good of the game, and how many of them are being made for whichever world leaders Infantino is cozying up to at that time?" Kay said.