Edison CEO says we may never know exactly how Eaton Fire sparked

A new report from the L.A. County Fire Department and Cal Fire concludes that Southern California Edison equipment sparked the deadly and destructive Eaton Fire last year, but gives little insight into how.

That was the main point raised by Pedro Pizarro, the president and chief executive of the utility’s parent company, Edison International, on AirTalk with Larry Mantle on Wednesday.

“The reality is we don't fully understand what the mechanism was that led to that potential sparking,” Pizarro said. “Not sure we will ever understand.”

Pizarro was referring to the report’s finding that an idle tower and grounded lines attached to it had electricity in them at some points on the evening of Jan. 7, 2025. Sparks are seen falling from that tower into dry brush below, according to multiple witnesses and videos cited in the report.

Pizarro added that the report contains lengthy redactions and more than 20 unreleased attachments, which may provide additional background into the why.

“We would want to be able to analyze those when they become available because there may be more helpful information there,” Pizarro said.

The Fire Department declined to release the attachments after an inquiry from LAist, citing ongoing legal actions and personnel privacy. It also noted ongoing investigations by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office as a reason for redacting nearly an entire section of the report listing penal code and other possible violations.

Meanwhile, on AirTalk, Pizarro described the leading theories Edison has as to how an idle power line could have sparked the Eaton Fire, which killed at least 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 homes and businesses.

Much of the theory comes down to “high school physics,” Pizarro said. Active power lines near the idle line could have created an electromagnetic force that caused induction, which in turn may have created an electrical current in the idle, grounded line.

Pizarro also pointed to other factors that made the fire go beyond a spark, including high winds and gas lines. In January, Southern California Edison sued Southern California Gas Co., alleging that the gas utility did not begin widespread shutoffs until days after the fire started, thus worsening the conflagration. SoCal Gas has said Edison is attempting “to deflect responsibility and accountability.”

Ultimately, Pizzarro said, preventing wildfires is not only the responsibility of the power companies.

“We have done a lot of work, as have other utilities in the state, to decrease the risk of heartbreaking catastrophes like this associated with utility equipment,” Pizarro said. “But we also know that, unfortunately, the risk will never be zero.”

Lawsuits and compensation

The company is also facing thousands of lawsuits from survivors of the Eaton Fire.

On AirTalk, Pizarro defended the company’s maintenance record of the vegetation beneath those lines.

“We continue to believe that SCE will be able to make a good faith argument that it was a reasonable operator of the system, that it was prudent, and that's the standard under which we're held under state law,” he said.

Pizarro also defended the company’s decision to keep the idle line itself, which could be used in the future as electricity demand rises. He said the company expects their demand load to double by 2045.