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Los Angeles Times
09-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Edison electric tower damaged while being dismantled for Eaton fire investigation
A Southern California Edison transmission tower that was being removed as part of an investigation into what caused the Eaton fire was damaged Thursday as it was being lifted by a helicopter, officials said. The damage occurred when the top portion of the tower came into contact with power lines, as it was being lifted, said David Eisenhauer, spokesperson for Southern California Edison. The tower was one of two structures that were being removed as part of their investigation into the cause of the devastating Eaton fire on Jan. 7. The other idle transmission tower, known as M16T1, or Tower 208 and located at the suspected point of ignition, was removed on Wednesday. It was broken up into two pieces and flown to a landing pad to be transported to a warehouse. That tower was removed without incident. But that was not the case with the second tower, located near Gould substation in La Cañada Flintridge. 'We're acknowledging there was some potential damage when an SCE tower was transported via helicopter,' Eisenhauer said. No injuries were reported because of the incident. It was not immediately clear how much damage was sustained by the tower, or if it would have any impact on the ongoing investigation. Eisenhauer said the company was still assessing the damage to the tower, which was moved Thursday evening to a landing pad. The tower was to be disassembled into three parts, and taken away to be tested Wednesday, but work was paused when the top part came into contact with power lines. Eisenhauer said the power lines that made contact with the tower were not energized at the time. While the official cause of the fire is still under investigation by Los Angeles County Fire, Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro told The Times that induction — a rare occurrence when idle tower and power lines are reenergized — is now a leading theory into how the deadly fire was sparked. As part of an agreement among SCE, county investigators and a growing list of law firms that have filed suit against the utility giant, the two towers were scheduled to be removed and taken to a warehouse in Irwindale, where they would be tested and examined to look for clues. SCE has told state regulators that four lines, including the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line, saw a surge of electrical current about the same time that the fire was started. The company also detected a fault on the Eagle Rock-Gould line, which also connects to the Gould substation.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Edison electric tower at center of Eaton fire investigation is dismantled and removed for testing
An idle Southern California Edison transmission tower was dismantled, removed and flown away via helicopter Wednesday so it could be tested to determine what, if any, role it played in igniting the devastating Eaton fire. The pylon overlooking Eaton Canyon has for months been the focus of investigators who are looking to determine what sparked the deadly fire on Jan. 7, after video captured the initial flames burning underneath the structure. Known as M16T1, or Tower 208, the structure has not been used by the utility company for more than 50 years, but Edison officials said it, and the idle line it carried, somehow became reenergized the day the fire began to burn. In a previous interview with The Times, Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro said the reenergization of the line, through a rare phenomenon known as induction, is now a leading theory into what sparked the inferno. On Wednesday, crews uninstalled the metal tower from a steep, now-charred hillside overlooking Eaton Canyon, where it has stood since 1971. A sky crane helicopter lifted and transported the tower in two large pieces. SCE had planned to remove the tower since last week, but rain and overcast skies forced crews, and the helicopter used to lift and carry the equipment off the hillside, to delay the work. The tower was dismantled and transported via truck to a warehouse in Irwindale, where it will be examined, photographed and tested in a laboratory setting to look for clues, said David Eisenhauer, spokesperson for Southern California Edison. In the warehouse, the tower will be tested and examined by fire investigators with Los Angeles County Fire, Southern California Edison officials and experts hired by a growing list of plaintiffs who have since sued the utility company for allegedly sparking the fire. "We're really looking for anything that will help in the investigation," Eisenhauer said. "It's a close-up examination where we look for any information." Three transmission towers sit near one another on the steep hillside, but only the idle tower was removed Wednesday. Read more: Edison to bury more than 150 miles of power lines in wake of devastating L.A. County firestorms Two weeks ago, SCE removed the idle power lines that connected to the tower and were part of the Mesa-Sylmar SCE line, which has also been idle for decades. Los Angeles County Fire officials are still investigating the fire's start and have not commented on a possible cause, but private investigators and Southern California Edison officials have focused their attention on the canyon transmission towers. The utility company has also disclosed to state regulators that it found unusual activity on its equipment at about the same time the fire was believed to have started. The idle transmission tower at the center of the Eaton fire investigation is carried away by helicopter on Wednesday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) The company reported to state regulators that four lines, including the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line, saw a momentary increase of electrical current at about the same time the fire began. The incident occurred after the company detected a fault on its Eagle Rock-Gould line, which connects to the Gould substation in La Cañada Flintridge, roughly five circuit miles from the suspected ignition point of the fire. On Jan. 19, Edison crews also briefly reenergized the transmission lines over Eaton Canyon and "observed a small flash of white light upon each re-energization." The flashes occurred on equipment that carry the Mesa-Vincent and Goodrich-Gould active lines, Edison officials said in a letter to regulators. Flashes were also seen on the Mesa-Sylmar line, which was not connected to a substation. Some attorneys suing Edison have also alleged that the idle tower, 208, was improperly grounded and posed a risk, pointing to a grounding wire that appeared to have been exposed on the hillside. The grounding line is meant to be connected to the tower and buried deep in the ground, but photos submitted in court showed about 4 feet of the wire protruding from the steep hillside, under the tower. Read more: Secret changes Edison imposed after Eaton fire remain shrouded in mystery Just weeks after the fire ignited, SCE updated an internal manual, detailing how crews should ground idle transmission towers — like Tower 208 — from now on. SCE officials said it was the only change made to the large, detailed manual after the Jan. 7 fire. Edison at first declined to disclose what changes were made to the manual. A spokesperson said the changes were to clarify language in its grounding policy. A helicopter gets in position over an Altadena hillside to remove a transmission tower. The tower and the idle line it carried somehow became reenergized the day the Eaton fire started. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) The company later shared with The Times the changes made to its idle tower grounding policies, showing the new grounding instructions provided new specifications for equipment, including the type of grounding wire and number of bolts to be used, depending on the type of structure. The previous version of the manual did not provide that type of specificity. Rajdeep Roy, vice president of transmission operations for Edison, told The Times that, before the changes, engineers determined the grounding procedures on a case-by-case basis, taking equipment, terrain and surroundings into account. Edison officials said a second tower, which had also been connected to the Mesa-Sylmar line, was scheduled to be removed and taken to the Irwindale warehouse later this week, so it could also be inspected and tested. That tower, Eisenhauer said, was near the Gould substation, where the fault had been detected by the utility company. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
08-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Edison electric tower at center of Eaton fire investigation is dismantled and removed for testing
An idle Southern California Edison transmission tower was dismantled, removed and flown away via helicopter Wednesday so it could be tested to determine what, if any, role it played in igniting the devastating Eaton fire. The pylon overlooking Eaton Canyon has for months been the focus of investigators who are looking to determine what sparked the deadly fire on Jan. 7, after video captured the initial flames burning underneath the structure. Known as M16T1, or Tower 208, the structure has not been used by the utility company for more than 50 years, but Edison officials said it, and the idle line it carried, somehow became reenergized the day the fire began to burn. In a previous interview with The Times, Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro said the reenergization of the line, through a rare phenomenon known as induction, is now a leading theory into what sparked the inferno. On Wednesday, crews uninstalled the metal tower from a steep, now-charred hillside overlooking Eaton Canyon, where it has stood since 1971. A sky crane helicopter lifted and transported the tower in two large pieces. SCE had planned to remove the tower since last week, but rain and overcast skies forced crews, and the helicopter used to lift and carry the equipment off the hillside, to delay the work. The tower was dismantled and transported via truck to a warehouse in Irwindale, where it will be examined, photographed and tested in a laboratory setting to look for clues, said David Eisenhauer, spokesperson for Southern California Edison. In the warehouse, the tower will be tested and examined by fire investigators with Los Angeles County Fire, Southern California Edison officials and experts hired by a growing list of plaintiffs who have since sued the utility company for allegedly sparking the fire. 'We're really looking for anything that will help in the investigation,' Eisenhauer said. 'It's a close-up examination where we look for any information.' Three transmission towers sit near one another on the steep hillside, but only the idle tower was removed Wednesday. Two weeks ago, SCE removed the idle power lines that connected to the tower and were part of the Mesa-Sylmar SCE line, which has also been idle for decades. Los Angeles County Fire officials are still investigating the fire's start and have not commented on a possible cause, but private investigators and Southern California Edison officials have focused their attention on the canyon transmission towers. The utility company has also disclosed to state regulators that it found unusual activity on its equipment at about the same time the fire was believed to have started. The idle transmission tower suspected of sparking the Eaton fire is carried away by helicopter on Wednesday. The company reported to state regulators that four lines, including the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line, saw a momentary increase of electrical current at about the same time the fire began. The incident occurred after the company detected a fault on its Eagle Rock-Gould line, which connects to the Gould substation in La Cañada Flintridge, roughly five circuit miles from the suspected ignition point of the fire. On Jan. 19, Edison crews also briefly reenergized the transmission lines over Eaton Canyon and 'observed a small flash of white light upon each re-energization.' The flashes occurred on equipment that carry the Mesa-Vincent and Goodrich-Gould active lines, Edison officials said in a letter to regulators. Flashes were also seen on the Mesa-Sylmar line, which was not connected to a substation. Some attorneys suing Edison have also alleged that the idle tower, 208, was improperly grounded and posed a risk, pointing to a grounding wire that appeared to have been exposed on the hillside. The grounding line is meant to be connected to the tower and buried deep in the ground, but photos submitted in court showed about 4 feet of the wire protruding from the steep hillside, under the tower. Just weeks after the fire ignited, SCE updated an internal manual, detailing how crews should ground idle transmission towers — like Tower 208 — from now on. SCE officials said it was the only change made to the large, detailed manual after the Jan. 7 fire. Edison at first declined to disclose what changes were made to the manual. A spokesperson said the changes were to clarify language in its grounding policy. A helicopter gets in position over an Altadena hillside to remove a transmission tower. The tower and the idle line it carried somehow became reenergized the day the Eaton fire started. The company later shared with The Times the changes made to its idle tower grounding policies, showing the new grounding instructions provided new specifications for equipment, including the type of grounding wire and number of bolts to be used, depending on the type of structure. The previous version of the manual did not provide that type of specificity. Rajdeep Roy, vice president of transmission operations for Edison, told The Times that, before the changes, engineers determined the grounding procedures on a case-by-case basis, taking equipment, terrain and surroundings into account. Edison officials said a second tower, which had also been connected to the Mesa-Sylmar line, was scheduled to be removed and taken to the Irwindale warehouse later this week, so it could also be inspected and tested. That tower, Eisenhauer said, was near the Gould substation, where the fault had been detected by the utility company.
