Feb 6 (Reuters) - Southern California Edison (SCE), a

subsidiary of Edison International ( EIX ), said on Thursday

that it was probing whether its equipment was associated with

the ignition of two Los Angeles-area wildfires this year.

In what is expected to be the most expensive natural

disaster in U.S. history, several wildfires tore across Los

Angeles starting on January 7, leading to dozens of deaths and

destroying thousands of homes.

The Eaton Fire was among the most destructive of the blazes,

and burned in areas served by SCE power infrastructure, which

has been a focus in ongoing investigations into the cause of

that wildfire.

"Information and data have come to light, such as videos

from external parties of the fire's early stages, suggesting a

possible link to SCE's equipment, which the company takes

seriously," SCE said in a statement.

"SCE has not identified typical or obvious indications that

would support this association, such as broken conductors, fresh

arc marks in the preliminary origin area, or evidence of faults

on the energized lines running through that area."

SCE is planning to lower transmission lines in the Altadena

area to be physically inspected for any possible link to the

Eaton Fire's start. The company said it expects its

investigation to last several months.

SCE also provided an update on its probe into the smaller

Hurst Fire.

The company has a transmission tower, Tower 6, located north

of Saddle Ridge Road, where the Hurst Fire reportedly

originated, SCE said in a statement.

"The damage to SCE facilities has not yet been tabulated,"

the company said. "The cause of the fire remains under

investigation, and SCE will continue to cooperate with fire

investigators," the company said in a separate statement.

The fire, which was reported on January 7, was contained by

January 16, after burning about 799 acres (323.34 hectares).

SCE, among other electric utilities, has come under

increasing scrutiny after multiple wildfires consumed tens of

thousands of acres across Los Angeles, in what is expected to be

the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history.