A woman whose home was destroyed in the massive Eaton Fire that killed at least 17 people and devastated the Altadena area of Los Angeles County earlier this month has obtained surveillance video from a gas station showing the fire’s origin from nearby power lines that arced in high winds as evidence in the woman’s lawsuit against Southern California Edison (SCE), CNN reports.
The video itself is a little UFO-ish, in that what is purported to be arcing, falling sparks, and then flames is just little glowing dots amid the blackness. But then it jumps to what’s unmistakably a raging inferno just eight minutes later and obviously any serious plaintiff is going to have other locational data showing that it corresponds to SCE equipment. “This investigation has unearthed video evidence of SCE’s equipment in Eaton Canyon arcing and sparking, followed by an eruption of flames, all at 6:11 pm on January 7, 2025 – the precise moment the Eaton Fire began,” said Jay Edelson, the complainant’s attorney. Images taken by other locals minutes later shows flames raging at the base of transmission towers. Southern California Edison may be just kind of fucked.