Power Grid Faults Spike Before Major Los Angeles Fires

Clear Facts

• Whisker Labs recorded a significant increase in power grid faults in Los Angeles before the onset of three major wildfires.
• The Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires saw hundreds of faults in the hours leading up to their ignition.
• Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the wildfires, with power grid faults being a possible clue.

In a startling revelation, Whisker Labs, a company specializing in monitoring electrical activity, has reported a dramatic rise in power grid faults in areas of Los Angeles that are now engulfed in wildfires. Bob Marshall, the CEO of Whisker Labs, shared that their network of sensors detected a sharp increase in faults just before the Eaton, Palisades, and Hurst fires erupted.

Marshall explained that Whisker Labs employs around 14,000 “ting” sensors across Los Angeles. These sensors are capable of pinpointing and identifying faults caused by electrical arcs with “extraordinary precision and accuracy.”

“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 elaborated.

The data provided by Whisker Labs is indeed alarming. In the Palisades area, which is currently battling the largest of the fires, 63 faults were recorded in the hours leading up to the fire’s ignition. Moreover, 18 faults were noted in the very hour the fire began on Tuesday.

The fires have wreaked havoc, destroying 12,300 homes and buildings, and claiming 11 lives, with expectations of the death toll rising. In the case of the Eaton Fire near Altadena, Marshall noted, “there’s 317 grid faults that occurred in the hours preceding the ignition.” Similarly, the Hurst Fire saw about 230 faults during the same period.

While sparks from these faults can ignite vegetation, leading to widespread fires, it remains unclear if they directly caused the wildfires. Marshall emphasized, “Importantly, what we cannot say is one of those is whether one of those faults caused the fire. We don’t know that.”

Despite the increase in faults, the power was not shut off immediately, which could have potentially mitigated the risk. Marshall reiterated, “But again, we can’t say definitively at all whether one of those faults caused a fire. I do want to be very, very clear about that.”

Currently, Whisker Labs’ data is not being shared with utility companies, although discussions have taken place. The company’s ting sensors are designed to notify homeowners of power surges, allowing them to take preventive measures against house fires. Marshall highlighted the effectiveness of this technology, stating it can prevent 80% of potential house fires.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) did not proactively cut power to prevent fire risks, unlike other major California power companies. An LADWP spokesperson mentioned that other safety measures are in place, such as disabling technology that automatically restores power after an outage, to avoid potential harm to emergency services.

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