Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the recent wave of fires that broke out around Los Angeles in the United States, last week, but residents are growing concerned that electrical infrastructure may have been responsible for at least one of the blazes.
According to New York Times, since 1992, over 3,600 wildfires in California have been linked to power generation, transmission, and distribution, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Some of the most devastating fires have been traced back to issues with utility poles and power lines.
Since 1970, around a dozen power line-related fires have scorched more than 200,000 acres in areas northwest of Los Angeles.
CalFire tracks large past wildfires and attributes their causes to various factors, both natural and human-related, such as lightning and arson.
The agency has listed more than 12,500 fires since the late 1800s, though the causes of more than half remain undetermined or unknown.
While lightning and equipment usage are among the most frequent causes, in recent decades, the number of fires linked to power infrastructure has steadily increased.
At least eight of California’s deadliest wildfires have been caused by power-related issues, with these fires highlighted in bold.
In a legal move, residents of Altadena, California, filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison on Monday, accusing the utility of sparking the Eaton fire, which has scorched more than 13,000 acres and impacted 5,000 structures in Altadena and nearby areas.
The company stated it is investigating the fire’s origin.
Power distribution lines have been identified as the cause of some of the largest fires in California in recent years.
The 2017 Thomas fire was ignited when high winds caused power lines from Southern California Edison to collide, a phenomenon known as “line slap.”
Burning debris fell onto the ground in the Upper Anlauf Canyon, about 35 miles from the current Palisades fire. The fire continued for nearly 40 days.
The 2018 Camp fire in Northern California began when an electrical arc between a Pacific Gas & Electric power line and a steel tower caused molten metal to fall onto nearby vegetation.
The fire resulted in over 80 fatalities and destroyed more than 18,000 structures.
In the summer of 2021, California’s largest single-source wildfire, the Dixie fire, ignited when a tree made contact with several PG&E distribution lines near the Cresta Dam in Northern California.
Electricity continued flowing through one of the lines, which triggered the fire, burning nearly a million acres across four counties.
California isn’t the only state grappling with power-related wildfires. In 2024, Texas’ largest wildfire, the Smokehouse Creek fire, consumed over a million acres.
Xcel Energy took responsibility after investigations revealed that high winds had snapped a utility pole, causing a power line to fall and ignite the dry grass below.
Oregon has also experienced similar incidents. The 2020 Labor Day fires, which destroyed thousands of homes and claimed at least nine lives, were partly caused by power not being shut down during high winds.
