One week since multiple fires erupted in Los Angeles, city officials are still working to pinpoint what ignited the blazes.
It's a process that could take some time.
"This process could take multiple weeks, multiple months," Trace Lawless, president of the International Association of Arson Investigators, told Scripps News. "Collecting all the data is the first thing — not only talking to people as far as witness interviews, collecting surveillance camera information, whether that be at a resident's or at a business, collecting all the data points, and then going out and physically observing the scene in its entirety."
Multiple lawsuits filed Monday claimed utility company Southern California Edison sparked the Eaton fire.
The company denies that claim but has said fire agencies are looking into whether its equipment may have started a smaller fire that broke out the same day.
RELATED STORY | Pink flame retardants are being used to slow California fires. What do we know about them?
As of Tuesday morning, investigators say they do not know a definitive cause for the start of any of the fires.
Some residents in the Pacific Palisades believe the Palisades fire may have started when remnants of an extinguished New Year's Day fire reignited.
"It's called a holdover fire," arson investigator Ed Nordskog said. "That's a reasonable theory at this point."
But investigators have not discovered a definitive link to that previous fire. While they continue to search for clues into what ignited the fire, it's clear what helped fan the flames.
"The biggest factor for Palisades was the wind," Nordskog said. "It was one of the biggest winds we've ever seen, so that took what would normally be a smaller fire and drove it into this massive event."
In an update Tuesday, officials warned severe weather conditions will continue through Wednesday.
