Sunday, August 16, 2026

The County Comes to Altadena to Talk About Wires

[photo credit: Los Angeles County]

A Los Angeles County Public Works official briefs the Town Council Tuesday, August 18, on undergrounding now under way

Since February, the Altadena Town Council’s meetings have circled the same subject: what happens to the utility lines running above and below the streets of a community still rebuilding.

On Tuesday, August 18, the council meets at 7 p.m. at the Altadena Community Center, and undergrounding is on the agenda again. Ciara Barnett, an assistant deputy director at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, will give a special presentation on the undergrounding work currently in progress.

The topic has generated sustained friction. Southern California Edison is prioritizing roughly 63 circuit miles of distribution lines for undergrounding in Altadena and surrounding areas affected by the 2025 Eaton Fire, part of a rebuilding effort the utility has valued at $860 million to $925 million across Altadena and Malibu. About 40 of those miles fall within the High Fire Risk Area.

Residents have pressed the council on what the program costs them. Homeowners objected to connection charges quoted between $8,000 and $10,000 to link private property to the new underground infrastructure, an estimate Edison gave in its rebuilding plan. Residents facing long trenches have been quoted $20,000 to $40,000, according to the Los Angeles Times.

On April 21 the council voted 13-0, with two members not voting, to ask Los Angeles County to intervene — requesting that undergrounding pause until oversight, coordination and funding measures were in place, that the County adopt an ordinance compelling AT&T Fiber and Spectrum to coordinate their own undergrounding, and that the County appoint an independent ombudsman to handle disputes in real time.

Tuesday, August 18, puts a County official in front of that record. The agenda sets aside a public comment period on the presentation alone, and the meeting streams live at https://www.youtube.com/c/PasadenaMediaCA.

The Altadena Town Council will meet on Tuesday, August 18 at 7 p.m. Altadena Community Center, 730 E. Altadena Drive, Altadena. Visit altadenatowncouncil.org. Meetings include a general public comment period and are recorded.