LOS ANGELES (AP) — Attorneys for a woman who is among thousands who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire outside Los Angeles say Southern California Edison crews working to repair and restore power in the area may have destroyed evidence that could help determine what sparked the wildfire.
The fire has killed at least 16 people and destroyed more than 7,000 structures in Altadena. Video and photos taken by residents captured flames beneath Edison’s electrical towers in the Eaton Canyon area in the early minutes of the fire. One resident said he heard a loud pop at the outset of the conflagration.
Now, attorneys for Altadena resident Evangeline Iglesias have asked a judge to order Edison to preserve evidence in the area, concerned that the utility is discarding equipment that may hold clues to the fire’s origin.
“SCE’s counsel stated in no uncertain terms that SCE planned to destroy ‘damaged distribution and related equipment in Altadena’ and ‘electrical infrastructure'” in Eaton Canyon unless plaintiff’s attorneys identified each specific piece of evidence that had to be preserved, attorneys wrote.
Her lawyers say they have received nearly 1,000 inquiries from “residents who will need this very same evidence in order to recover.”