It appears that SoCal Edison did start the Eaton Fire

[ZoWie]

That's the one that took out the northern third of Altadena. This is a racially mixed and relatively upscale community east of Pasadena at the bottom of the same mountains that ultimately peak near the Mt. Wilson observatory. BTW only a heroic stand by fire fighters and citizens alike saved that historic and very valuable facility, not to mention the adjacent transmitting site. As it was, several broadcasting stations in LA had to go off-air.

Right after the fire the Nooz got hold of a video taken by just an ordinary guy with a cell phone. It was kind of smoky and indistinct, but it did show something that looked like arcing on a power line. The Nooz ran it and Edison denied everything, saying the line was de-energized at the time and there was no current on it.

Now this week Edison is meekly admitting that they probably did start the fire. The city and state are suing for huge damages to cover the cost of fighting it. The precedent established there might ultimately activate the hundreds of LA 1-800-SOSUEME law firms to unleash an equally impressive event when half the population that was affected sues too.

The electricity in the Palisades comes from LA city DWP, and they clearly didn't start the fire there. The kids partying at Skull Rock did, though there will probably never be proof that can hold up in court. I grew up there and I know the territory. Basic common sense was in short supply then, and now it's really hard to find. Everyone thinks the laws of thermodynamics only apply to others. They light fireworks and smoke weed or tobacco in places where they really shouldn't.

Even so, DWP has liability exposure. Being city, any resulting settlements will be our taxes at work. The "W" in DWP stands for water, and when the fire started the adjacent reservoir was still being worked on in a project that was years behind schedule. The fire fighters used the adjacent tanks that abound in LA fire zones, but when they emptied, that's all folks. No water. Fire just loves when people can't spray water at it.