It was demolished Wednesday, demolished and flew an idle Southern California Edison Transmission Tower, so it could be tested to determine its role in igniting the devastating Eaton Fire.
A tower overlooking Eaton Canyon has been the focus of investigators for months hoping to determine the focus of the deadly fire on January 7, after the video captured the initial flames beneath the structure.
The building, known as the M16T1 or 208 Tower, has not been used by utility companies for more than 50 years, but Edison officials said it and the idle lines it carried, somehow reinvigorated the situation the day the fire began to burn. Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro said in a previous interview with The Times that through a rare phenomenon, the series’ re-entering of the induction phenomenon of the series has become the main theory that triggers hell.
On Wednesday, crew members overlooked Eaton Canyon from the steep, now-mounted hillside, where they had been unloading metal towers since 1971.
A sky chandelier was lifted and transported the tower with two large pieces.
SCE has been planning to remove the towers since last week, but rain and cloudy skies forced crew members to be used by helicopters to lift equipment off the hillside and delay work.
David Eisenhauer, spokesman for Edison, Southern California, said the tower was demolished and transported by truck to a warehouse in Irwindale where it will be inspected, photographed and tested in a lab environment for clues.
In the warehouse, fire investigators for the Los Angeles County fire will be tested and inspected by Los Angeles County fires employed by Los Angeles County fires, Southern California Edison officials and an increasing list of plaintiffs who are increasingly prosecuting utility companies allegedly causing a fire.
"We're really looking for anything that helps investigate," Eisenhauer said. "It's a close-up check and we're looking for any information here."
Three transmission towers sat on a steep hillside, but only the idle towers were removed.
Two weeks ago, SCE removed the idle power cord connected to the tower and was part of the Mesa-Sylmar SCE series, which also has been idle for decades.
Los Angeles County fire officials are still investigating the start of the fire and have no comment on the possible causes, but private investigators and Southern California Edison officials are focusing on the Canyon Transmission Tower.
The utility also revealed to state regulators that it found abnormal activity on the equipment that discovered the fire began around the same time.
The idle transmission tower at the Eaton Fire Investigation Center was taken away by a helicopter on Wednesday.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
The company reported to state regulators that four lines, including the dormant Mesa-Sylmar series, temporarily increase current when current starts to occur at about the same time. The incident happened after the company discovered a fault on its Eagle Rock-gould line, which connected to the Gould substation in LaCañada Flintridge, about five miles from the ignition point of the alleged fire.
On January 19, Edison's staff also briefly re-invigorated the transmission lines on Eaton Canyon and "observed a small patch of white light every time they rejoined." Edison officials said in a letter to the regulator that the flashes occurred on devices with countertops and Goodrich active lines. The flash can also be seen on the Mesa-Simal line that is not connected to the substation.
Some lawyers suing Edison also claimed that the 208-year-old idle tower was improperly rooted and posed risks, noting that ground wires appear to have been exposed to hillsides. The ground wire is to be connected to the tower and buried deep in the ground, but photos filed in court show about 4 feet of wire highlighted on the steep hill beneath the tower.
Weeks after the fire ignited, SCE updated its internal manual, detailing how staff should start with idle gearboxes (such as 208 Tower) on the ground. SCE officials said this is the only change made to the large, detailed manual after the fire on January 7.
Edison initially declined to disclose what changes were made to the manual. The changes were intended to clarify the language in its underlying policies, a spokesperson said.
A helicopter was placed on the slopes of Altadena to remove the transmission tower. The day the Eaton Fire began, the towers and idle lines were re-inspired in some way.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
The company later shared changes to idle tower grounding policy with Time, showing new grounding instructions that provide new specifications for the equipment, including the type of grounding wire and the number of bolts to be used, depending on the type of structure.
This particularity was not provided by previous versions of this manual. Rajdeep Roy, vice president of Edison's transmission operations, told the Times that before the change, engineers determined grounding procedures based on the circumstances, taking into account the equipment, terrain and surroundings.
Edison officials said the second tower is also connected to the Mesa Mountain Line and is scheduled to be removed and brought to the Irwindale Warehouse later this week, so it can also be inspected and tested.
Eisenhauer said the tower was near the substation in Gould and the utility found fault.