Southern California Edison, an electric company providing power to some 15 million Californians, said its equipment may have started the Hurst Fire and is looking into a possible connection to the Eaton Fire, as well. The Eaton and Hurst fires burned approximately 124,000 and 800 acres, respectively, in Los Angeles County last month.

SCE submitted two letters to the California Public Utilities Commission on Thursday stating that while the official origins of both fires are still under investigation, preliminary information suggests a possible link to SCE’s equipment, Edison International said in a Thursday press release.

“While we do not yet know what caused the Eaton wildfire, SCE is exploring every possibility in its investigation, including the possibility that SCE’s equipment was involved,” Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO Edison International, said in a Thursday statement. “We have been fully engaged since the start of the fires in supporting the broader emergency response, containment, recovery and investigation efforts.”

The Los Angeles Police Department is the lead agency assigned to investigate the causes of both fires and determined the origins of the Hurst Fire to be linked to SCE’s equipment.

A view of burnt houses during the Eaton Fire in Altadena in Los Angeles County, California, on Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu )

The wildfires have so far burned 57,636 acres, destroyed 16,255 structures and left 29 people dead. Tens of thousands have been displaced after their homes were destroyed.

Global data analytics from Verisk estimates that insured losses will reach at least $28 billion — the costliest disaster in U.S. history.