LA Homes Near Fire Still Had Power as Winds Rose, Data Show

(Bloomberg) -- As attention turns to the causes of this week’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires, evidence has emerged that power lines close to where one of the deadly conflagrations started weren’t shut off, despite warnings about high winds.

In the case of the Eaton Fire, which has so far burned more than 13,000 acres in northern LA, data provided by Whisker Labs indicate homes just west of Eaton Canyon, where the blaze began, still had power when flames first erupted at 6:18 p.m. Pacific time on Jan. 7.

Arcing and faulty electricity transmission lines have been connected to numerous fires in California in recent years. More than 100 people died in 2023 in a blaze on the Hawaiian island of Maui that was linked to electrical lines downed by high winds.

Utilities in California now routinely shut off power when wind speeds climb and conditions are very dry. Such measures were taken in parts of LA just before the fires began. 

Whisker monitors electricity flows using residential plug-in devices. Its data show eight sensors several hundred feet west of Eaton Canyon had power at that point. None of these homes had back-up generators, rooftop solar or batteries, Chief Executive Officer Bob Marshall said. 

Edison International has said the Eaton Fire began within its service area. It also said its utility in the area, Southern California Edison, shut down local distribution lines “immediately to the west of Eaton Canyon” before the blaze.

The Whisker data show neighborhoods further west — on the other side of Allen Avenue — experienced grid faults hours before the fire and lost power by about 3:35 p.m. By 4 p.m., homes east of the canyon also lost power. 

It’s unclear why some homes still had power while surrounding neighborhoods went dark. Whisker’s data can’t distinguish between public power shutoffs and other grid issues, and can’t show the cause of fires, Marshall said. 

Late Thursday, Southern California Edison said it was asked by attorneys representing insurance companies to preserve evidence in connection with the Eaton Fire.

“We will review all information made available to us as part of our investigation,” said David Eisenhauer, a spokesman for Southern California Edison. “Misleading the public by speculating on the cause of the catastrophic fires that are still raging through Southern California is wildly inappropriate and unhelpful to the community and our customers.”

Both Southern California Edison and the industry group it’s a part of, the Edison Electric Institute, raised concerns about the accuracy of the Whisker Labs’ data when it comes to grid disturbances and pointed out the company is funded by insurers. 

Whisker’s data is based on a “customer grade device with visibility to customer assets, and I just don’t think they have the visibility to the broader grid,” said Scott Aaronson, senior vice president at the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities, including Edison International. 

Marshall said Whisker is an independent company with a minority, non-controlling investment from the insurance sector. It has deployed about 1 million home devices around the country, and most of them were provided for free by home insurers. 

(Updates with comments from Whisker Labs, SoCal Edison and EEI starting in the 10th paragraph.)

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