Officials are investigating an electrical transmission tower in Eaton Canyon as the possible origin site of the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The site has been cordoned off from the media and the fire department, with only investigators allowed in, the Times reported.
“Nobody is allowed up there besides investigators,” Wayne Howerton, an investigator for the California Department of Fire and Forestry Protection, told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s currently an investigation into the start of the Eaton fire.”
In a statement published Sunday, Southern California Edison said a review of circuits and transmission lines in the Eaton Canyon area showed its electric equipment was unlikely to have caused the fire.
“That analysis shows no interruptions or operational/electrical anomalies in the 12 hours prior to the fire’s reported start time until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire,” the utility said.
Cal Fire, meanwhile, lists the cause of the Eaton Fire as being under investigation.
So far, at least 24 persons have been confirmed dead and property worth multiple billions of dollars destroyed in what had been described as the worst wildfire disaster in US history.