33

Mountain View News Saturday, August 8, 2026


SOCAL EDISON ELECTRICAL TOWER 
SPARKED DEADLY EATON FIRE

Weather Wise

6-Day Forecast Sierra Madre, Ca.

 Sun Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s 

 Mon: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60ss 

Tues: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s 

 Wed: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s

 Thur: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s 

 Fri: Sunny Hi 90s Lows 60s

 Forecasts courtesy of the National Weather Service

 LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Electrical arcing 
on an out-of-service Southern California 
Edison transmission tower sparked the 
2025 Eaton Fire, the Los Angeles County 
Fire Department concluded in reports 
released Tuesday.

 Fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, the 
Eaton Fire that erupted Jan. 7, 2025, killed 
at least 19 people in the Altadena area, 
while destroying roughly 9,000 structures 
as it raged over more than 14,000 acres.

 SCE power lines have long been 
suspected as the source of the fire, with 
numerous lawsuits already filed against the 
utility. SCE officials have acknowledged in 
previous filings with state regulators that 
its equipment was a likely ignition source 
for the blaze.

 ``Our hearts are with the Altadena 
community, and we continue to support 
them as they recover and rebuild through 
our Wildfire Recovery Compensation 
Program,'' SCE spokesman David 
Eisenhauer told City News Service 
Tuesday. ``We received the L.A. County 
Fire report and are reviewing it. We have 
taken our potential role in the start of this 
fire seriously from the

beginning. As we've previously said, SCE 
believes that it is likely that its equipment 
was associated with the ignition of the 
Eaton Fire.''

 The official investigation into the 
cause of the blaze was conducted by the 
LACoFD Arson Fire Investigation Unit 
in conjunction with Cal Fire. The report 
released Tuesday states that the fire ``was 
sparked by an electrical event'' at an SCE 
transmission tower near the Eaton Wash.

 ``Video evidence collected by the Eaton 
Fire Investigation Team revealed two 
electrical arcing events that occurred in 
quick succession, leading to an unknown 
burning material falling from the SCE 
tower's location into the dry receptive fuel 
bed below,'' the report states.

 ``The fuel bed ignited approximately 
12 seconds after the burning material 
was seen falling from the arcing event,'' it 
states. ``The Eaton Fire rapidly developed 
into a conflagration, engulfing the areas 
of the San Gabriel Mountains, Altadena, 
Pasadena, Sierra Madre and La Canada 
Flintridge. It was fully contained 24 days 
later, on Jan. 31, 2025.''

 County fire officials said in a statement 
that under the California Public Utilities 
Code, SCE must maintain and operate its 
electrical lines ``in a matter that would 
minimize the risk of catastrophic wildfire 
posed by them.''

 ``I recognize that no report or 
investigation into the Eaton Fire can ease 
the deep pain and tragedy our residents 
have endured,'' county Fire Chief Anthony 
C. Marrone said in a statement. ``While 
the cause has been determined, our focus 
remains on assisting our residents to 
rebuild their homes and livelihoods, and 
ensuring lessons learned drive meaningful 
and impactful change in memory of the 19 
lives lost.''

 Last September, federal prosecutors in 
Los Angeles sued SCE over its alleged role 
in sparking the Eaton Fire and another 
blaze, seeking to recover costs of damage 
to thousands of acres of Angeles National 
Forest land. The suits, which argued that 
faulty SCE equipment ignited the fires, 
seek more than $40 million in damages.

 ``We intend to hold them fully responsible 
for their actions and will not allow them 
to recoup any settlement from ratepayers,'' 
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli 
wrote on social media Tuesday. ``Edison 
took in more than $4 billion in profits last 
year. It's unconscionable that they continue 
to seek rate increases from the public for 
their own negligence in starting wildfires.''

 The utility has also been sued by hundreds 
of residents impacted by the Eaton Fire.

 SCE has established a Wildfire Recovery 
Compensation Program, allowing people 
to file claims directly with the utility and 
receive payments for damages outside of 
court.

 Attorneys representing fire victims have 
criticized the SCE program, saying it fails 
to fully reimburse people for damages 
suffered as a result of the blaze.

 Former Assemblyman Chris Holden, 
CEO of LA Fire Justice, an organization of 
attorneys, experts and advocates working 
with fire victims, called on state officials to 
hold Edison accountable.

 ``This fire was preventable,'' Holden 
said in a statement. ``Right now, utilities 
are cutting backroom deals with the 
Legislature for a get-out-of-jail-free card. 
We urge them to stand with fire victims 
and not the for-profit utilities that are 
responsible for the destruction of our 
community and 19 deaths.''

 County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, 
who represents the Altadena area, said 
the community ``deserves transparency, 
accountability and access to the facts. 
While the report does not close this 
chapter, I hope it brings greater clarity 
and a measure of closure to those who 
have endured so much. My commitment 
to supporting our community's recovery 
remains steady and unchanged.''

SIERRA 
MADRE CITY 

COUNCIL 
MEETING

COUNCIL ON SUMMER BREAK FOR THE 
MONTH OF AUGUST

The Brown Act provides the public 
with an opportunity to make public 
comments at any public meeting. 
As an alternative, public comment 
may be submitted by e-mail to publiccomment@
sierramadreca.gov by 
3:00PM on the day of the meeting. 
Emails will be acknowledged at the 
City Council meeting and filed into 
public record.

 A copy of the posted agenda and a 
live video stream of the meeting can 
be found on the City’s website at sierramadreca.
gov on Foothills Media 
website at foothillsmedia.org sierramadre, 
and broadcast on Government 
Access Channel 3 (Spectrum).


NOTICE OF NOMINEES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the following persons have been nominated for the offices designated 
to be filled at the General Municipal Election to be held in the City of Sierra Madre on Tuesday, 
November 3, 2026. Nomination papers have been forwarded to the Los Angeles County Clerk’s 
Office for verification of voter signatures.

For Member of the City Council – 4 Years Vote for no more than three (3)

(Names listed in Alphabetical Order)

 • Thomas S. Denison – Executive / Planning Commission Chair

 • Kris Lowe – Incumbent / Mayor / Educator 

 • Geoff Woods – Retired Teacher

For more information please contact City Clerk Laura Aguilar at (626) 355-7135 or via e-mail at 
CityClerk@SierraMadreCA.gov

Laura Aguilar

City Clerk, Elections Official

Posted August 7, 2026

1630 AM EMERGENCY RADIO & 

Free on-air publicity for local events

 Sierra Madre’s EMERGENCY radio station is now accepting scripts for 
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) about community events. PSAs 
will be broadcast on the air at no charge. The station operates 24/7 and can 
be heard at 1630 on the AM dial.

 Any local non-profit or non-commercial organization can have their 
event information broadcast to the public on Sierra Madre Community 
Information Radio. The station covers the city of Sierra Madre, plus 
surrounding areas of Pasadena, Arcadia, and Monrovia. 

Your event must:

• Benefit a non-commercial or non-profit entity
• Be open to the public
• Be of general interest to local citizens


Just 
write a Public Service Announcement that describes your event and 
e-mail it to radio@cityofsierramadre.com. 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE: The Social Side by Deanne Davis


It’s August! Can you believe it? It’s 
still way too hot and i want more than 
anything to decorate My house for fall. 
Of course, it’s nowhere near fall, but 
I’m really tired of summer and ready 
for A change. Maybe just a couple of 
fall things.

 I’m writing about August on August 
4th, which is national sisters day. It 
is also my sister’s birthday. Happy 
birthday, heidi! It is also national 
chocolate chip cookie day, american 
family day, national friendship day and 
national coast guard day.

 Other fun days in august include: 
august 9 – national cat day; the 10th 
which is national Garage sale day; the 
12th national middle child day; the 
13th national left-handers day. I could 
go on for pages. So celebrate august, 
friends and neighbors! School starts 
august 5th for some of us and, believe 
me, there will be plenty of celebrating 
that day!

 August is also national language 
month; which means we need to 
pay attention to our words. Harvey 
Mackay, one of my favorite columnists 
says: “words are the building blocks of

Relationships. They can build trust, 
show empathy and create bonds. The 
wrong words can damage relationships, 
sometimes irreparably. Certain 
words can offend or alienate people. 
By choosing your words wisely, you 
respect your listeners and create a more 
inclusive environment.” Ain’t that the 
truth! This is why discussing politics 
and/or religion at Thanksgiving is 
forbidden and all conversation should 
be about how moist the turkey and 
eliciously tasty the gravy.

 The Apostle, ames, addressing this 
same issue in his book, back toward 
the end of the new Testament said: 
“Dear brothers, don’t ever forget that it 
is best to listen much, speak little, and

Not become angry (no politics at 
the table!). (James1:19-20) and then 
there’s this one also from James, who, 
apparently, was tired of people who 
talked too much and not very nicely: 
“the Tongue is a small thing but what 
enormous damage it can do. A great 
forest can be set on fire by one tiny 
spark and the tongue is a flame of 
fire, full of wickedness…and can turn 
our whole lives into a blazing flame 
of destruction and disaster!” (James 
3:2-5-6) as Thumper said to Bambi,“If 
you can’t say something nice, don’t say 
nothing at all!”

 Back to my friend Mr. Mackay, “a 
rich vocabulary allows you to express 
yourself clearly and concisely. It 
shows that you can think critically and 
articulate your thoughts in a way that 
is both respectful and intelligent.” 

 People who read a lot usually have 
great vocabularies. There’s always a

 word in whatever you’re reading that 
you’ve never seen before and you can 
dazzle your friends and family by 
inserting something like “behoove” 
into your sentence, i.e., “It would 
behoove everyone to get out their 
credit cards to help pay for this dinner, 
as the bill is approaching!”

 Having celebrated two birthdays the 
last couple of weeks by going to P. F. 
Chang’s, I want to share my fortune 
cookie fortunes with you as they’re 
really good:

 One who admires you greatly is hidden 
before your eyes. (Enigmatic, but who 
doesn’t want to be admired…especially 
greatly!)

 This week, people in your life will 
be more cooperative than usual. (I’m 
totally up for that!) You will soon 
receive an unexpected gift. 

(A big check from one of those 
people in my life who are being 
more cooperative than usual 
would be great!)

 The picture this week is of 
prickly pears, ripe and ready to 
eat. Notice that nice red color. 
The problem with trying to use 
prickly pears is they are just not 
as easy to deal with as other fruits 
like lemons or oranges. To start 
with, collecting your prickly pears 
should be done with leather gloves 
and tongs. Then, put the fruit in 
a paper bag that will prevent the 
glochids (thorns,

Stickers) from coming through. 
Then, carefully burn the fruit over 
an open flame from a blow

Torch, lighter or candle. After 
being burned, the fruit can be 
peeled by cutting off both ends,a 
mking a slit from top to bottom the 
carefully peeling the skin off the fruit 
to reveal a dethorned fruit. Seriously? 
I know people use them, I’ve seen it on 
the food network! But i’m just not up 
for potential pain.

 Recipes abound for jam, jelly, 
margaritas, candy, but i can’t get myself 
past that first step of needing leather 
gloves and tongs. The rabbits, which 
also abound, love them and seem to 
be able devour them without damage 
to any part of their mouths. So, while i 
think about making prickly pear jelly, 
i stay on the side of caution and leave 
them to the bunnies and the birds. Bon 
appetit!

 “Some things to love about august: 
sea shells in all shapes and colors, 
endless hours of sunshine, multicolor 
sunsets, spontaneous summer trips, 
freshly baked s’mores, and not getting 
up early.”

 One more exciting thing bout this 
August: Granddaughter Ashley, and 
her husband, rever, are expecting 
twin girls in just a few days! Now, that 
makes it a totally exciting month!

 My book page: amazon.com: Deanne 
Davis. So many fun books, great 
recipes and stories in A tablespoon 
of love, a tablespoon of laughter, and 
sunrises and sunflowers speak hope

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com