One of California’s largest utility companies said Thursday that its equipment had likely sparked one of the wildfires that tore through Los Angeles County on Thursday.
The fire broke out on January 7, the same day that the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires took the lives of at least 29 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.
The Hurst fire, which spread over nearly 800 acres was put out more than a week after its start, but did not destroy any structures or result in any deaths.
The admission by Southern California Edison came in a required filing with state utility regulators.
The utility acknowledged last month that fire agencies are investigating whether its equipment may have started the Hurst Fire, which scorched about 1.25 square miles (3.2 square km) around the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“Absent additional evidence, SCE believes its equipment may be associated with the ignition of the Hurst Fire,” Thursday’s filing said.
In a second filing, the utility said it is looking into whether an idle transmission line became energized and possibly sparked the deadly Eaton Fire, which devastated Altadena. But it still maintains there’s no evidence that its equipment was responsible for starting that blaze.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
