In the case of the Eaton Fire, the investigators are likely to use magnets to help them hunt for the tiny, melted pieces of metal that could have been shed by power lines if they slapped together. But the existence of the metal doesn’t necessarily indicate that’s how the fire started, Nordskog said.

Watch live as Los Angeles County officials give a wildfire update on Saturday (11 January) as fresh evacuation orders have been given. On Friday night, reports that the Palisades Fire on the city’s western edge was heading in a new direction prompted fresh evacuation orders for much of the Brentwood neighborhood and the foothills of the San Fernando Valley.