Los Angeles County fire officials released a report on August 4, 2026, saying that the 2025 Eaton fire was started by a Southern California Edison (SCE) power tower that had been shut down but still carried electricity. The report finishes a joint investigation by the Los Angeles County Arson Fire Investigation Unit and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). The Eaton fire was one of two major wildfires that hit the Los Angeles region in January 2025.

The Eaton fire killed 19 people and destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 homes and businesses. It burned 22 square miles (57 sq km) and took firefighters nearly a month to put out. The fire spread into the San Gabriel Mountains and engulfed Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre, and La Cañada Flintridge. Eighteen of the 19 people who died lived in west Altadena, which has concentrated community anger and lawsuits against both the utility and county agencies.

According to the report, electricity jumped across a gap on the shut-down SCE tower twice in quick succession. Think of it like a spark plug in a car — electricity arcs (or jumps) between two points, creating heat and light. Burning material fell from the tower to the ground, and dry grass caught fire within 12 seconds. The investigation used a 911 call from January 7 by a Pasadena resident who described seeing a small fire, about 10 inches by 10 inches, at the base of the tower.

SCE spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy said the utility received the report and is reviewing it. She noted that SCE had already acknowledged its equipment was likely connected to the fire's start. That matches reporting from January 2025, when SCE said it was reviewing video that appeared to show sparks from a tower near where the Eaton fire began. The utility also reported a problem on a power line miles away from the fire's starting point. Multiple lawsuits filed against SCE in early 2025 claimed the utility's equipment started the blaze. Attorneys for one victim alleged SCE may have destroyed evidence related to the fire's cause. Residents had taken video and photos of flames that plaintiffs linked to the start of the fire.

SCE has also filed its own lawsuits. Earlier in 2026, the utility claimed that Los Angeles County agencies failed to send timely evacuation warnings to residents in east and west Altadena. SCE also claimed that water agencies, including Pasadena Water and Power, did not provide enough water as the fire spread. These claims set up the utility's argument that even if its equipment started the fire, mistakes by public agencies made the damage worse.

The Eaton fire burned at the same time as the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed more than 6,800 homes and buildings in Pacific Palisades. The man accused of starting the Palisades fire will be tried again in fall 2026 after his first trial ended without a verdict. Together, the two fires killed 31 people and destroyed or damaged more than 15,800 structures across Los Angeles County.

The broader context here is the set of rules that govern where and how buildings go up in wildfire-prone areas of Los Angeles County. After the 1993 wildfire season, the LA County Board of Supervisors created the Wildfire Safety Panel to recommend ways to reduce threats to life and property in fire-prone areas. In 1996, the county began requiring Fuel Modification Plans — plans that control vegetation and building materials around structures to slow the spread of fire. The County of Los Angeles Fire Department Forestry Division reviews and approves these plans. New construction, large remodels, certain outbuildings over 120 square feet, parcel splits, and subdivisions in Fire Hazard Severity Zones all require an approved plan. Cal Fire maps and updates Fire Hazard Severity Zones across the state for State Responsibility Areas, while counties or cities set zones for Local Responsibility Areas subject to state approval.

What these rules mean for the Eaton fire lawsuits is that SCE's arguments about who is at fault will bump up against county-level planning and fire-safety rules. If SCE's equipment on a shut-down tower started the dry grass that fueled a 22-square-mile fire, the people suing will argue that the utility's failure to maintain its equipment was the main cause of the destruction, not evacuation delays or water shortages. SCE's claims against county agencies, on the other hand, point the finger at emergency response systems and water supply under extreme fire conditions.

The ignition finding also rules out some earlier theories. Early in the investigation, competing ideas included possible human-caused ignition and questions about whether SCE's active or shut-down equipment was involved. The report's conclusion that the arcing happened on a shut-down tower raises specific questions: Why did a tower that was supposed to be out of service still carry enough electricity to spark? What maintenance and shutdown steps did SCE follow? And will allegations that SCE destroyed evidence affect how the lawsuits play out?

For the communities of west Altadena, where 18 of 19 deaths occurred, the report provides an official answer about how the fire started but does not settle who is responsible. That will play out in what is likely to be long, complex litigation involving SCE, Los Angeles County agencies, water districts, and thousands of property owners. The Palisades fire retrial in fall 2026 will also keep the region's wildfire response under public scrutiny as both cases move forward.