LA municipal utility says no evidence energized power line caused wildfire

(Reuters) — A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power above-ground power line near the Pacific Palisades was energized when the Palisades Fire began early this year, but there is no evidence that the line contributed to the blaze, the municipal utility said Tuesday.

The transmission line near the hills where the deadly inferno began Jan. 7 has come under scrutiny more than two months after the blaze began in what is expected to be recorded as one of the most destructive natural disasters in U.S. history.

A new complaint against the utility, filed Wednesday, accused the LADWP electrical system of sparking spot fires that fed into the Palisades Fire. Those fires began at around 10:30 p.m., about 12 hours after the blaze first erupted, the complaint said.

LADWP said that it manually shut the line at 2:30 p.m., after the initial fire began but before the alleged spot fires.

Investigations are ongoing into the initial start of the Palisades Fire.

LADWP said investigations, including by lead investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, so far have not indicated that its equipment was linked to the cause of the fire.

The municipal utility is also facing lawsuits tied to the management of its water supplies during the Palisades Fire fight.

Southern California Edison, the largest investor-owned utility in the southern part of the state, is being sued on claims that its power equipment started the Eaton blaze.