The clamoring for cities and utility companies to bury power lines underground where wind cannot blow them down and spark a fire has grown exponentially since the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County in January.
But despite calls from politicians, residents and almost everyone affected by the Palisades and Eaton fires, progress is slow and uneven. Even in Pasadena, with an undergrounding program operating through its municipal utility, the efforts have been fairly substantial, but very slow and far from complete.
Calls for undergrounding
Residents who want to rebuild in Pasadena and Altadena are frustrated that there’s not a commitment to undergrounding distribution lines in the fire zones, and that high-tower transmission lines may never go underground.
“In the weeks after the Eaton Fire, SCE (Southern California Edison) was reluctant to discuss anything with the Town Council, including undergrounding. At some point it was relayed that they could not underground in parts of Altadena where the towers are, or over bedrock,” said Victoria Knapp, chair of the Altadena Town Council in an emailed response.
Knapp particularly wanted guarantees from SCE to not re-string lines on poles in the areas burned out by the fire.
“It would be unconscionable to allow residents and businesses in a high fire severity zone to rebuild without undergrounding the power lines,” she concluded.
The Eaton fire destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 17 people, nearly wiping out the entire unincorporated community of Altadena in the worst natural disaster in county history.
Numerous lawsuits allege that Edison’s lines were responsible for starting the fire. Edison has said it is looking into the possibility that its equipment was involved. A lawsuit filed by Los Angeles County said: “Edison failed to de-energize all of its electrical equipment in and around the area of the Eaton Canyon on January 7, 2025, including multiple transmission lines and other equipment in the Eaton Canyon.”
Attorneys also point to a public filing by SCE with the California Public Utilities Commission that a fault was detected at approximately 6:11 p.m. on its Eagle-Rock-Gould transmission circuit — “at or near the same time that the Eaton Fire ignited under the base of its transmission towers in Eaton Canyon.”
Cost, rocky terrain hindrances
Edison is moving ahead with limited undergrounding projects in Altadena. It plans on burying 1.3 miles of wires in trenches, all within state-designated high-fire risk areas. This project replaces above-ground wiring in the Gorge circuit, said Jeff Monford, SCE spokesperson. High risk areas are closest to the mountains, where wildfires start.
Edison calls their program “targeted undergrounding,” meaning areas are assessed for feasibility and cost. “The cost has to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission and ends up on the bill,” he explained.
He said Edison cannot underground where the terrain is rocky or where chaparral makes trenching difficult. “In some areas, targeted undergrounding makes sense. In other areas is it not feasible because of the terrain and other factors,” Monford said.
While he pointed out putting wires underground protects them from winds, the private utility looks at limited locations where it makes the most sense. “Affordability needs to be considered,” he said.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena, is pushing SCE, the CPUC and Gov. Gavin Newsom to require undergrounding of utilities before rebuilding starts.
The supervisor is recommending all utilities use the “single trench method” for electric, cableTV, and broadband to be underground together. Trenches are lined with conduit, which houses the wires, underground vaults and other structures needed for transformers.
“With that in mind, she has made it very clear this is an incredible opportunity to do this, both from a visual perspective and the obvious need to ensure we harden our electrical grid,” said Anish Saraiya, Barger’s director of the Altadena recovery efforts.
Future progress in Palisades
In Malibu, dozens of beachfront homes were burned to the ground as a result of the Palisades fire, which destroyed a total of 6,837 structures, including 5,419 homes, 135 multi-family residences, and 158 commercial buildings and killed 12 people.
SCE crews are working to put power lines underground along a 25-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, according to a report on the “Energized” website of Edison International.
Often, agreements are needed from property owners, or undergrounding projects can be delayed or halted, the utility reported.
In the Palisades, a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, the L.A. Department of Water and Power is starting construction on undergrounding some burned-out areas on Monday, March 17.
“Since Day one of the restoration we have decided to go fully underground,” said Janisse Quinones, LADWP CEO on March 6 in a press briefing, who said 4,000 feet of underground cables were designed and ready for construction. The cost of undergrounding is reportedly between $1 million and $4 million per mile.
Pasadena program slow-go
Patricia Vahdat, who lost her house in Upper Hastings Ranch in Pasadena, said as digging and construction begins, now is the time for putting lines under the streets.
“It has been talked about for years,” she said, adding that safety is No. 1 but also, removing power lines clears site view of the mountains.
“For security and safety, it just makes sense,” she said. “For people considering rebuilding, there should be a conversation to do it right now. I’d prefer those wires be underground,” she said.
Edison controls the high-tower lines in the Eaton Canyon area, where people suing the utility allege the fire started. The utility did not answer if there were any plans to underground those transmission lines.
Charlotte Bland, who made an unsuccessful run for Pasadena City Council in March 2020, often raised the issue of undergrounding large transmission lines in Eaton Canyon. She said over the years, she has called SCE many times to talk about the issue with the homeowners association. They declined, she said.
Nearly five years later, the Eaton fire exploded, burning into the nearby Eaton Canyon Golf Course. Her house was spared and those of her neighborhoods, as winds pushed west, not south.
“I’ve always been concerned about the safety of those power lines,” she said on Friday, March 14. “The lines are above ground and we do get a lot of wind.”
The city of Pasadena has been undergrounding local distribution power lines since 1967-1968, when the program first started. The nearly 60-year effort has resulted in two-thirds of the electrical lines of the city being placed underground, said Jennifer Guess Mayo, assistant general manager for external affairs.
The two areas, one around Mountain Street and Lake Avenue and the other at Raymond Avenue and Maple Street just north of the 210/135 freeways are next on the list for undergrounding, said Guess Mayo.
The Mountain/Lake project will cost $10.45 million. The Raymond/Maple project budget is $36.07 million, she said.
“This is barbaric,” said Joe Bell, a resident of Pasadena who pointed at the power lines along Mountain while walking into Roma Market, the Italian deli and grocery store on the northeast corner famous for its $6 Italian sandwich.
“These should be removed. It creates an unnecessary risk,” Bell added.
These lines are in a commercial area, but offshoots travel up into the hillside toward residential neighborhoods.
Since Jan. 7, the city has added the Upper Hastings Ranch Area to the list of projects for removing overhead wires and placing them underground, said Guess Mayo, who had no timetable. “If it (that area) is suitable that is our recommendation. We are still looking at those things. The goal is to do it,” she said.
The city’s Underground Surtax collects about $7.39 million a year from Pasadena Water and Power customers. The tax is noted on the bill and is based on percentage of household power usage. But it can average about $40 to $45 per customer each year, she said.
The surtax fund balance currently stands at $40.5 million, she said.
In 2014, the city discovered money was missing from the fund. Five years later, Danny R. Wooten, a 55-year-old former management analyst for Pasadena’s Public Works Department, was convicted of 53 felony counts, including embezzlement by a public or private officer. He reportedly stole roughly $3.5 million from the undergrounding fund by creating false invoices for the program.
While Pasadenans have been paying for undergrounding electric power lines for nearly six decades, some residents in Laguna Beach have asked to be taxed to pay for the service.
Residents of West Street, Monterey Street and Eagle Rock Way — about 101 parcels — would pay for undergrounding lines because the area is in a fire zone, residents told The Daily Pilot in a March 6 article.
The newspaper reported the city would contribute 20% of the $7 million project, with 80% from property owners. A undergrounding district would need to be formed and residents would vote on the assessment.
In Northern California, Pacific Gas & Electric plans on undergrounding 10,000 miles of power lines in high fire risk areas. PG&E has already buried 800 miles of lines since 2021, with each mile costing between $3 million and $4 million.
From 2019 through 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission authorized the three largest utilities to collect $27 billion in wildfire prevention and insurance costs from ratepayers, according to a report to the Legislature.
“Undergrounding sounds wonderful, but it is much more expensive,” added Monford of SCE.