A strange increase in power-grid faults was observed in the hours before three major fires in the Los Angeles area.
There was a significant increase in electrical faults before the Eaton, Palisades and Hurst fires, according to Whisker Labs, a company that specializes in monitoring electrical systems. Whisker CEO Bob Marshall told Fox News that the company’s network of over 10,000 sensors across the city detected a surge in faults.
“Faults are caused by tree limbs touching wires or wires blowing in the wind and touching. That creates a spark in a fault, and we detect all of those things,” Marshall explained. Faults can also be caused by equipment catching fire, increases in demand and earthquakes.
In the area where the Palisades fire broke out, 63 faults were recorded in the three hours before the fire. Eighteen faults were logged during the hour before the fire.
In Eaton, 317 faults were recorded, and in Hurst, 230.
In general, only a handful of faults are recorded daily in an area.
“Importantly, 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.”
Marshall added that the data show power was not turned off as the faults increased, but he emphasized that, at this stage, it’s impossible to know whether the faults caused the fires.
On Friday, The Wall Street Journal revealed that the LA Department of Water and Power did not turn off the power to reduce the risk ahead of the wildfires. Most California electrical providers do this as a preventative measure.