Videos captured by nearby residents appear to show the moment the Eaton Fire began on Tuesday evening.
Pedro Rojas recorded video from the backyard of his Pasadena home around 6:24 p.m. on January 7 and told CNN that he and his family were evacuated within the next 20 minutes.
Rojas’ video shows flames at the base of an electrical transmission tower at 6:24 p.m. and by 6:41 p.m., he says he and his family evacuated.
Officials have not yet determined the cause of the ongoing fires, but they are investigating an electrical transmission tower in Eaton Canyon as the possible origin site of the Eaton Fire, according to the Los Angeles Times.
See the moment captured on video here:
Resident captured moment fire started at base of electrical transmission tower
“We just took important documents and a few clothes and took off,” he said.
umes of smoke can be seen billowing out of the area as gusts of wind are heard throughout the video.
Luckily, that wasn’t the case for the family. Rojas said his house and a few of his neighbors’ houses survived the fire, but houses a few streets over were destroyed and are gone.
Rojas said he and his family are now in Azusa, staying at a hotel until they can get back to their neighborhood and their home.
Altadena residents Jennifer and Marcus Errico took photos around 6:15 p.m. of a similar scene at Eaton Canyon. The Erricos told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday they spotted a small blaze underneath the transmission line that runs through the canyon.
Listen to The Erricos interview here:
Couple captures photos of fire at base of electrical transmission tower
Footage by another Altadena resident shows flames at the base of the tower around 6:19 p.m.
Jeffrey Ku recorded video from a distance of the electrical tower on fire and told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday night that he did whatever he could to save his home.
Ku continued to record videos of the fire as it rapidly grew by the minute. By the time he and Cheryll left their house at 6:53 p.m., the sky was filled with an orange haze and smoke as they drove away.
Listen to The Kus recap their experience here:
Doorbell footage captures moment couple flees wildfire
CNN’s Sarah Dewberry contributed to this report.
