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One of Southern California’s two Edison transmission towers was demolished and removed Wednesday as part of an investigation into whether the tower played a role in launching the deadly Eaton Fire.
Located on the steep hillside of Eton Canyon, the two towers became the focus of investigators after the fire first ignited on January 7th, when an eyewitness video captured what appeared to be burning beneath the tower.
According to the utility company, the large tower was disassembled into several parts before flying by a Sky Crane helicopter towards a nearby landing zone for inspection by a team of interested parties.
One of the two Edison transmission towers in Southern California (on the left) was demolished and removed from the site on May 7, 2025 as part of an investigation into whether the tower played a role in the fatal Eaton Fire in Altadena. (KTLA) For testing and testing on May 7, 2025 (Edison, Southern California), the moving tower was dismantled by a helicopter to a nearby landing zone, and one of the two Southern California Edison transmission towers was demolished and removed on May 7, 2025 from the steep hillside of Eton Canyon, Eton Canyon. (KTLA) A flare-up can be seen at the root of the power line of this screen grab in the video, said to have been filmed in a short moment after the Eton fire erupted in Altadena on January 7, 2025. of an investigation into whether the Tower played a role in the fatal Eaton fire in Altadena. (KTLA) One of the two Edison transmission towers in Southern California was demolished and removed from a steep hillside in Eton Canyon on May 7, 2025. (KTLA)
The transmission tower, which was removed Thursday, has not been in use by SoCal Edison for more than 50 years, but Edison officials told the Los Angeles Times that the tower and idle line it carried were now being recreated on the day the fire broke out.
In an interview with The Times, Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro said reenactment of the line through a rare phenomenon known as induction is the main theory of what caused a deadly wildfire.
The company reported to state regulators that four lines, including the dormant mesa-Silmerline, saw current increase almost the same moment the fire began.
Eaton Fire has destroyed more than 9,000 homes and buildings, killing 18 people in the Altadena area.
The Times accused SoCal Edison of over 40 lawsuits from more than 600 residents of fired the flames, the Times reported. In March, LA County filed a lawsuit against a utility company seeking to recover the cost of damages.
The New York Times reported that despite warnings about “major wind events” and “significant fire hazards,” SoCal Edison questioned why it didn’t cut electricity to the region. The report also claimed that the power line was tense from the reinforced winds that reached 100 mph.
“There are standards for shutting off power because the distribution lines and transmission lines and winds we have acquired do not meet those standards,” explained David Eisenhauer, spokesman for SoCal Edison.
A flare-up can be seen at the root of the power line of this screen grab in the video, which is said to have been filmed at a mere moment after the Eton fire erupted in Altadena on January 7, 2025.
Eisenhauer said the second power tower will be demolished, removed and taken to an Irwindale warehouse for further inspections and testing.
“This is all part of our commitment to thorough and transparent research,” Eisenhauer said. “We’re working together to do this with opinions from other stakeholders, including the LA County Fire Department, the cities of Pasadena and Sierra Madre, and the plaintiff’s lawyers.”
For now, the utility company said it will focus on moving electrical equipment as underground as possible.
“We did all the tests we could imagine before we moved anything,” said Marc Ferguson, senior manager of the SCE Transmission Operations and Helicopter Assist Line Organization. “Everyone wants to know what happened, whether SCE equipment played a role or not, so we do due diligence to get to that bottom. Getting these answers is very important to us and our community.”
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