Thousands lose power in Long Beach after underground vault fire causes blackout
Heat wave strains power grid
An ongoing heatwave has strained the power grid, knocking out power for thousands in Southern California.
LONG BEACH, Calif. - A large power outage began Sunday afternoon when an underground electrical vault caught fire near Bluff Heights, off Broadway.
What we know:
No one was injured in the fire, according to Long Beach fire officials. The blackout affected more than 26,000 customers, according to Southern California Edison.
SCE officials said crews were able to restore some power relatively quickly, but more than 16,000 businesses and residents had no power overnight in the area bounded by north of East Ocean Boulevard, south of East Seventh Street, west of Quincy Avenue, and east of Alamitos Avenue.
By mid-morning, about 2,500 customers remained without power, with 1,371 still affected at 6 p.m. Monday, according to SCE spokesperson Kathleen Dunleavy.
Quite a few of the residents FOX 11 spoke to also reported losing cell connectivity when the power outage began. FOX 11 reached out to several carriers, including AT&T and Verizon, who explained that cell towers rely on commercial electrical grids, so a large power outage like this one could affect them. Not every cell tower is equipped with a generator, and those that are can run out of fuel after a few hours.
By nightfall Monday, people in the affected area seemed to be able to use their phones, even as some businesses off Broadway were still waiting for power to come back on.
What's next:
While extreme heat is definitely affecting the SCE grid and is suspected as a factor in this blackout, Edison officials said they are still investigating the exact cause of the equipment failure in the vault. They expect that all customers in the area will regain power by tomorrow morning.
SCE is warning customers in areas like Castaic and north of Santa Barbara that Public Safety Power Shutoffs will be implemented during the next few days as temperatures soar. For more information, go to sce.com.