Malibu Canyon Fire, 2007
The Malibu Canyon Fire started on October 21, 2007, when three utility poles beside Malibu Canyon Road fell in Santa Ana winds. It burned 3,836 acres and destroyed 14 structures and 36 vehicles. Southern California Edison (SCE) later admitted it broke the law by not acting promptly to stop an attachment it knew would overload the poles.
- Where
- Malibu Canyon, Los Angeles County
- Utility
- SCE
- Record
- Admitted by the utility
- Started on
- Line not stated
- Acres burned
- 3,836
- Days to containment
- Not published
- Structures destroyed
- 14
- Deaths
- Not published
Admitted by the utility
The utility itself said its equipment was involved.
In a 2013 settlement with the CPUC's safety staff, SCE admitted it violated the law by not acting promptly to stop a fiber-optic attachment that its own planner had found would overload the poles.
Line not stated
The sources we found do not say whether it was a transmission or a distribution line.
Three joint utility poles beside Malibu Canyon Road, carrying SCE and telecommunications lines, which fell in Santa Ana winds.
What happened
- Started
October 21, 2007, when Santa Ana winds swept through Malibu Canyon and three utility poles next to Malibu Canyon Road fell to the ground.
- Damage
3,836 acres burned, 14 structures and 36 vehicles destroyed, and 19 other structures damaged.
What it cost
- SCE's settlement
$37 million in shareholder funds, under the 2013 settlement with the CPUC's safety staff: a $20 million penalty to the state's General Fund and $17 million for pole loading assessments and repairs in Malibu Canyon and nearby.
- Telephone companies
AT&T, Verizon and Sprint settled for $12 million, approved by the CPUC in September 2012.
Not published
We looked for these and found no source that publishes them:
- Deaths and injuries, if any
- When the fire was contained
- Evacuations