Southern California

SoCal Edison Says Its Electrical Grid Was ‘Impacted' at Start of Saddleridge Fire

Residents told NBC4 they saw the first glow of flames at the base of one of the transmission line towers located about 100 yards behind their homes in a wilderness area.

Southern California Edison reported to state regulators that its electrical system was impacted around the time and in the area where the Saddleridge Fire started in Sylmar.

SCE made the report to the California Public Utilities Commission last Friday, "out of an abundance of caution," a company spokesperson told NBC4.

Regulated utilities are required to make notifications to the CPUC when incidents meet certain criteria, though the full contents of the report were confidential, a state official said.

The Saddleridge Fire started last Thursday night near the intersection of Yarnell Street and Saddleridge Road, close to where high voltage transmission lines owned by SCE cross the foothills.

Residents told NBC4 they saw the first glow of flames at the base of one of the transmission line towers located about 100 yards behind their homes in a wilderness area.

Investigators from the Los Angeles Fire Department have searched the area around the tower for clues to the ignition source of the fire that burned nearly 8,000 acres and destroyed and damaged dozens of homes.

As of Monday morning the cause of the fire had not been found, though law enforcement sources told NBC4 they expected arson to be ruled-out in the coming days.

Few clues were found during an examination of the charred ground around the tower, the sources said.

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