Costa Mesa : Fire Interrupts Plaza’s Electrical Power Supply
Electrical power at the South Coast Plaza shopping center was temporarily interrupted Wednesday afternoon after an underground electric storage device caught fire, a plaza spokesman said.
“We did lose part of the power to the mall,” said David Grant, the plaza’s manager of operations. “But no smoke got inside and no one was evacuated.”
A Southern California Edison Co. spokesman said power went out about 3 p.m., also affecting 3,900 customers outside the mall, who lost power for about half a minute. About 32 customers, including major department stores inside the mall, were without power for up to two hours.
The thick black smoke from the fire, which was easily visible to passers-by, did not cause damage inside the mall, Grant said.
A Southern California Edison crew restored power once the fire was contained by the Costa Mesa Fire Department.
The fire’s cause is being investigated. Damage was limited to the underground capacitor.
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