New video raises questions whether SoCal Edison power lines sparked Eaton Fire

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- While the investigation continues into what sparked the Eaton Fire, a new video at the center of a lawsuit against Southern California Edison could help determine the start of the deadly blaze.

Attorneys for Edelson PC, a law firm suing SCE on behalf of an Altadena resident affected by the fire, say recently obtained surveillance video from an Arco gas station proves the utility company's power lines ignited the Eaton Fire on Jan. 7.

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Monday ordered Southern California Edison not to alter or destroy any of its equipment inside the Eaton Fire zone for at least the next 21 days.

RELATED: Eaton Fire nears full containment, debris flow concerns eased as rain moves out of SoCal

In Glendale, attorneys for the Edelson law firm held a news conference on the courthouse steps just minutes after an emergency proceeding to preserve evidence. They said the new video shows arcing and electrical sparking on a transmission tower in Eaton Canyon just before the wind whipped the fire into a fast-moving and destructive blaze.

"We see what is unequivocally arcing at the very origin of the fire," said Ali Moghaddas, an attorney for Edelson. "We know that their equipment was involved in this, and now it's just a matter of determining why did this happened."

Moghaddas says his firm has also found new data that show what he calls a "fault" on an Edison power facility about five miles away from the Eaton Canyon origin point at 6:11 p.m. on Jan. 7. He says it is common for faults like that to trigger arcing on transmission lines several miles away.

Moghaddas accused SoCal Edison of trying to hide evidence.

"SCE had plans to unilaterally potentially destroy evidence in this case, but the court's order puts a stop to that," he said at the news conference after the court hearing.

SoCal Edison though has maintained that it has found no evidence that its equipment was related to the start of the fire. A spokesperson told Eyewitness News that it is looking into the fault and examining the latest surveillance video.

"That video requires careful analysis," said Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokesperson for SoCal Edison. "And it's premature for anyone to be speculating what the video footage means before it goes to investigators."

SoCal Edison told the judge Monday that about 2,000 Altadena area homes are still without power, and that keeping the transmission lines de-energized in Eaton Canyon is slowing efforts to return power to everyone.

The Eaton Fire was one of two massive and deadly blazes that sparked on Jan. 7 amid hurricane-force winds that whipped across the parched Los Angeles region. At least 29 people have died in the Eaton and Palisades fires.

The Eaton Fire is now nearly contained, meaning firefighters almost have it surrounded, as the region gets its first rain in months.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.