Nearly a week later, Los Angeles County is still battling the fierce wildfires that have destroyed countless homes and buildings and forced tens of thousands to evacuate. From the ashes and rubble, a key question has emerged: What caused the California fires?
The short answer is that no one knows. It’s also important to point out that there were multiple fires in Los Angeles County, including the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hurst Fire, Kenneth Fire, and Lidia Fire. As such, it’s possible there were multiple causes for each one.
While the investigation is still ongoing and could last for weeks or months, here are some of the potential causes that officials are looking into.
Arson. When it comes to the Palisades Fire, which has burned 23,713 acres so far, experts say it’s unlikely that arson, the intentional setting of fires, was the culprit. The blaze began on a hilltop, and experts that spoke to NBC News said that this type of location isn’t normally targeted by arsonists.
“This is what we call inaccessible, rugged terrain,” Rick Crawford, a former battalion chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department, told the outlet. “Arsonists usually aren’t going to go 500 feet off a trailhead through trees and brush, set a fire and then run away.”
Fires aren’t uncommon in the wooded areas on the outskirts of Los Angeles. According to NBC News, many of these fires are caused unintentionally by homeless people. Some fires have even sprung up in the city, where the homeless at times tap into the electrical wires under the sidewalks to power their tents.
While experts say arson isn’t likely the cause of the Palisades Fire, some of the smaller fires that developed afterwards could be the work of so-called “copycat arsonists.” On Monday, the fire was only 13% contained.
Electrical tower. Both the Palisades and Eaton Fires are the most destructive fires ever seen in Los Angeles County.
In the case of the Eaton Fire, investigators seem to be focused on an electrical tower operated by Southern California Edison, or SCE. As explained by The Los Angeles Times, multiple residents have videos and photos that appear to show the first beginning at the base of the SCE tower. Investigators have been seen near the tower multiple times.
David Stover, one of the residents in the area who evacuated after a neighbor told him there was a fire, told the Times that the fire started at the tower.
“It was like a little ball, and it just went off,” Stover said. “It just exploded.”
As of Monday, the Eaton Fire had burned through 14,117 acres, per Cal Fire, and was only 27% contained.
“To date, no fire agency has suggested that SCE’s electric facilities were involved in the ignition or requested the removal or retention of any SCE equipment,” the company said in a notice.
An old fire. Another possibility experts have pointed to is the rekindling of an old fire from New Year’s Day in a Pacific Palisades hillside. People were lighting fireworks in the area, but firefighters said they managed to put out the fire before it reached the neighborhood.
However, just because the firefighters put out the flames doesn’t mean the fire was completely gone, according to Terry Taylor, a retired wildland fire investigator. Taylor said the dry and rugged parklands in the area were an important aspect to consider.
“These sorts of fuels, especially when they are dry, the fire goes deep down into the root structure, so you may not get it out even if you dump water on it,” Taylor told The San Francisco Chronicle. He added that a rekindling of the fire was “very possible” and something he would look into if he was on the case.
The New Year’s Day fire and the Palisades Fire both originated in the small hillside.
Although officials haven’t determined the official cause of the California fires, they appear to agree on one thing: The strong winds didn’t help and likely caused the fires to spread. On Monday, it appeared that the winds were making an appearance once more.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning, which warns of critical fire weather conditions, for Los Angeles County lasting from Monday night to Wednesday. Gusts are expected to reach between 55 and 70 mph.
Images | CAL Fire | Gov. Gavin Newsom
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