The recent deadly Eaton Fire in Altadena and Pasadena has claimed at least 16 lives with more missing, destroyed over 7,000 structures and 14,000 acres of popular trails and protected wildlife habitat. It is already one of the most deadly fires in California history and one of the most costly disasters in U.S. history.

While the cause of this fire is still under investigation, pictures and video evidence from local residents show the fire beginning in vegetation below a transmission tower in Eaton Canyon which may have still been energized during extreme wind conditions. Several lawsuits were filed on January 13th, 2025 for negligence against Edison International and Southern California Edison as the operator of this transmission equipment. 

“There is clear evidence from video footage, photographs, and witness accounts that the fire was caused by electrical equipment operated by Defendants Edison International and Southern California Edison,” the complaint states.

Utility-caused wildfires have now caused some of the most deadly wildfires in California and U.S. history including the Camp Fire in 2018 sparked by PG&E which took 102 lives.

Southern California has known high wind events annually in mountain and foothill communities, as well as extremely dry vegetation from recent droughts. Sparks from transmission lines in these regions pose extraordinary risk to public safety which occur in high winds. Immediate efforts should be made to put these transmission lines underground as quickly as possible to reduce wildfire risk. Similar efforts are happening throughout California, and burying transmission lines are potentially 99% effective in reducing wildfire risk. 

We are rate payers, tax payers, home and business owners, wildfire victims and concerned citizens urging that during this rebuilding and recovery all efforts are made to advance permitting and funding to place transmission wires underground and install additional fail-safe mechanisms for high wind conditions on any electrical equipment.

We demand urgent action to reduce utility-caused wildfires in and near the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Monica Mountains, regional canyons and any fire-prone, wind-prone regions throughout Southern California: the United State's most populated region.