LOS ANGELES: A federal investigation has been launched into the cause of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.
The fire swept through Altadena and the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood, killing at least 24 people and burning entire communities to ashes.
As authorities search for answers, social media has been abuzz with speculation and theories about what sparked the fire, drawing millions. Residents are desperate for an explanation.
Suggestions include downed power lines, arson, a stray firework and restarting an earlier fire.
But Jose Medina of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), who is leading the inquiry, said it was too early to tell.
“We know everyone wants answers, and the community deserves answers. ATF will give you those answers,” he told reporters. But that will be after we complete a thorough investigation,” he told reporters.
ATF is working with local law enforcement agencies, as well as the Forest Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in an operation that will involve about 75 people.
He said that fire investigators, chemists, electrical engineers and sniffer dogs trained to detect accelerants would do extensive field work to locate the seat of both fires.
A team will also be deployed to gather clues from the local community and online, interviewing potential witnesses.
“We are following all leads and processing all physical evidence,” Medina said.
“ATF is committed to leveraging every available resource to deliver a thorough and transparent investigation.”
Internet users jumped on a video posted by trail runners showing them running through smoke in the hills above Pacific Palisades.
But one of them, Benny Oren, told the Los Angeles Times that he had nothing to do with the fire, and was actually running for his life in the video.
“It’s certainly infuriating that people are accusing us,” he told the newspaper.
“Knowing for a fact … that we didn’t do it but then seeing the number of people with different views is overwhelming.”
Several homeowners in the Altadena area have filed a lawsuit against power company Southern California Edison after a video surfaced showing flames at the base of a power transmission tower, local media reported.
The utility has said it does not believe its equipment was at fault.