An attorney used a combination of photogrammetry and multiple pieces of video evidence to allege that the devastating Eaton Fire in Los Angeles last month was caused due to the fault of Edison, the local power company.
The Eaton Fire started on January 7 and burned 14,021 acres including large swaths of the populated Altadena and Sierra Madre neighborhoods in Los Angeles. In a video posted by LA Fire Justice, Trial Attorney Mikal Watts describes and shows how he used digital 3D photogrammetry and a group of witness videos to pinpoint the origin of the Eaton fire, which he alleges is the fault of Edison Power.
“We took video from an ARCO gas station provided by Jerry Singleton and used it to create a 3D model of Eaton Canyon through a process called photogrammetry. This technique takes videos and images from different angles and stitches them together to build an exact digital model that recreates the canyon’s shape and details, in essence, a 3D map,” Watts says.
Photogrammetry is defined as the science and technology of obtaining reliable information about physical objects and the environment through the process of recording, measuring, and interpreting photographic images and patterns of electromagnetic radiant imagery and other phenomena. Thanks to approximations that can be drawn from photos or videos, scientists can accurately approximate areas and maps with astounding accuracy.
According to Watts, there was a “fault” at one of Edison’s substations at around the time that visible arcing can be seen in video footage captured from that ARCO gas station camera. He says these types of faults can cause voltage surges in the line, sometimes miles away. A flash, caused by what he says is an arc, can be seen in the video footage.
“During arcing, electricity jumps from one place to another, and the lines can dangerously flash and spark. When that happens, the metal on the steel towers can reach temperatures as high as 1,500 degrees, literally melting pieces of the towers,” Watts explains.
There is a second flash visible in the footage followed by what appears to be light dropping lower, which tells Watts that the molten steel from the line caused by the arc has fallen to the ground, catching the area around the towers on fire.
“This paints a very clear picture of the start of the Eaton fire,” Watts says. “This is my 22nd wildfire. I’ve represented 21,000 fire survivors in six different states [and] this is the clearest evidence that I’ve ever seen of utilities’ equipment being the start of a fire.”
In January while the fires still burned, lawsuits had already been filed against Edison on speculation that faulty power lines may have sparked the fire, NPR reports. Watts’ explanations show not only that photogrammetry is a fascinating and powerful technology, but also why those who filed the lawsuits pointed the finger at Edison.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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