Wildfire attorneys reveal new evidence they say points to origin of Eaton Fire
PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Wildfire attorneys and consumer advocates revealed new thermal images they say clearly point to the origin of the Eaton Fire.
The LA Fire Justice group held a town hall meeting Thursday in Pasadena to share the findings.
"This is a massive, massive expensive wildfire that Southern California Edison owes the bill for," said Mikal Watts, an attorney with LA Fire Justice.
The group claims the images show sparking power lines ignited the fire, adding that negligence set the stage for the catastrophe.
"That failure brings with it the loss of 17 lives, the loss of 8,500 homes, the loss of a very important community," said Watts.
The group said the transmission tower at the center of the fire was more than 100 years old and had been decommissioned in 1971, but was allegedly never removed or maintained.
Many residents attended Thursday's meeting, hoping to get informed. Freddy Sayegh, who lost seven homes and businesses in Altadena, said seeing the case against Southern California Edison unfold is overwhelming.
"It's truly devastating to know that we didn't have to burn down," he said. "That's so much negligence, mismanagement and failure to repair."
Numerous attorneys have filed hundreds of lawsuits in connection with the Eaton Fire.
Advocates like Erin Brockovich said the fire could have been avoided if SCE had taken action after seeing the costly outcome of other California fires sparked by utilities.
"You've got huge oversight problems with these utilities," she said. "They're runaway. There's no oversight on their infrastructures, which fail."
Now, thousands of Altadena residents are left to pick up the pieces, demanding justice.
"There's no way that they can get out of saying they didn't cause this fire, because they did, absolutely. I'm just hoping that they will be held accountable," said Altadena resident Janet Hicks.
Meanwhile, Southern California Edison has already begun work that will eventually put miles of power underground.
READ MORE | Palisades and Eaton Fire rebuilding efforts include moving power lines underground
