Faults along Los Angeles’ power grid surged in the same locations where three of this week’s massive wildfires are raging, a company that monitors electrical activity said.
Whisker Labs recorded sharp increases in faults in the hours prior to the Eaton, Palisades and Hurst Fires, its chief executive officer Bob Marshall told Fox News Saturday.
In the Palisades area, the largest of the fires, there were 63 grid faults in the two to three hours prior to the start of the fire, Marshall said.
There were also 18 faults registered in the hour it began Tuesday.
He also said there were 317 grid faults “in the hours preceding” the Eaton Fire near Altadena and about 230 that occurred before the Hurst Fire.
He said on a typical day there are few faults.
Although investigators have yet to determine the cause of the wildfires, sparks from faults can fall to the ground and ignite vegetation.
High winds can then carry flames at rapid speeds.
“What we cannot say … is whether one of those faults caused the fire. We don’t know that,” Marshall said.
“What we know from our data is that there were increasing faults in the grid in the area around where those fires ignited.”
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