Power Lines May Be At Fault In Raging Fire Near Los Angeles, Officials Say

Power lines are suspected to have been involved in a major wildfire that led to evacuation orders for 100,000 people and was blamed for two deaths in Los Angeles County last week, authorities said Monday.

The Saddleridge Fire ignited in a 50- by 70-foot area beneath a high voltage transmission tower on Thursday, the Los Angeles Fire Department said late Monday afternoon.

Other parts of Southern California were under rolling power blackouts to prevent fires sparked by power lines at the time.

The cause of the fire remained undetermined, fire investigators said, but the electric utility serving the area, Southern California Edison, or SCE, confirmed to NBC News that it filed a notice with state regulators on Friday reporting that "our system was impacted near the reported time of the fire."

The fire, in Sylmar, the northernmost neighborhood of Los Angeles, was still burning Monday night.