A Southern California Edison transmission tower that was being removed as part of an investigation into what caused the Eaton fire was damaged Thursday as it was being lifted by a helicopter, officials said.
The damage occurred when the top portion of the tower came into contact with power lines, as it was being lifted, said David Eisenhauer, spokesperson for Southern California Edison.
The tower was one of two structures that were being removed as part of their investigation into the cause of the devastating Eaton fire on Jan. 7. The other idle transmission tower, known as M16T1, or Tower 208 and located at the suspected point of ignition, was removed on Wednesday. It was broken up into two pieces and flown to a landing pad to be transported to a warehouse.
That tower was removed without incident.
But that was not the case with the second tower, located near Gould substation in La Cañada Flintridge.
“We’re acknowledging there was some potential damage when an SCE tower was transported via helicopter,” Eisenhauer said.
No injuries were reported because of the incident.
It was not immediately clear how much damage was sustained by the tower, or if it would have any impact on the ongoing investigation.
Eisenhauer said the company was still assessing the damage to the tower, which was moved Thursday evening to a landing pad.
The tower was to be disassembled into three parts, and taken away to be tested Wednesday, but work was paused when the top part came into contact with power lines.
Eisenhauer said the power lines that made contact with the tower were not energized at the time.
While the official cause of the fire is still under investigation by Los Angeles County Fire, Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro told The Times that induction — a rare occurrence when idle tower and power lines are reenergized — is now a leading theory into how the deadly fire was sparked.
As part of an agreement among SCE, county investigators and a growing list of law firms that have filed suit against the utility giant, the two towers were scheduled to be removed and taken to a warehouse in Irwindale, where they would be tested and examined to look for clues.
SCE has told state regulators that four lines, including the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line, saw a surge of electrical current about the same time that the fire was started.
The company also detected a fault on the Eagle Rock-Gould line, which also connects to the Gould substation.
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