Power grid failure suspected in devastating LA fires
A power grid failure may have been the cause of fires in Los Angeles, reported the New York Times on Tuesday. Investigators are still conducting inquiries to determine the cause of the wave of fires that broke out in California last week.
According to Forest Service data, since 1992, over 3,600 fires in California have been linked to the production, transmission, and distribution of electricity, notes the American newspaper.
Fires in Los Angeles. Write about the probable cause
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), which regularly publishes fire data, has examined the causes of over 12,500 fire incidents since the late 19th century. Analyses indicate that the most common causes of fires are lightning strikes and human activities, including power infrastructure failures.
On Monday, residents of Altadena, a town within the Los Angeles metropolitan area, filed a lawsuit against Southern California Edison, the main electricity supplier in California, alleging that the company's faulty equipment caused the Eaton fire, which resulted in the destruction of 5,000 buildings. The company stated that it is conducting its own investigation into the causes of the incident.
In 2017, a fire called Thomas broke out due to a transmission line failure caused by strong winds. Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly 40 days. A year later, the Camp Fire, which affected the northern part of the state, was sparked by a power installation failure. The disaster claimed over 80 lives and destroyed about 18,000 buildings. In the summer of 2021, the Dixie Fire erupted after a tree came into contact with Pacific Gas & Electric transmission lines. As a result, almost 988,000 acres of the state were burned.
California is not the only state in recent years to struggle with fires linked to transmission network failures.
Fires in Los Angeles. Massive losses
Investigators determined that the largest fire in Texas history, Smokehouse Creek in 2024, broke out after strong winds toppled a power pole. Similar incidents also occurred in Oregon in 2020, where fires destroyed thousands of homes and claimed the lives of at least nine people.
Several fires that broke out on January 7, 2025, in the Los Angeles County area have already resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people, with at least several thousand buildings being destroyed or damaged. More than 150,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and another 150,000 received warnings about the possible need to leave their homes.
