Man Critically Hurt in Lakeside by 138,000-Volt Electrical Jolt

A 19-year-old man was burned over 90% of his body Thursday after he climbed on top of equipment at a San Diego Gas & Electric substation in Lakeside and came in contact with 138,000 volts of electricity, authorities reported.

Phillip Daniels of El Cajon was listed in critical condition late Thursday at the UC San Diego Medical Center burn ward.

Daniels climbed an 8-foot-high barbed-wire fence in the southeast corner of the Los Coches substation at Lake Jennings Park and El Monte roads, said SDG&E; spokeswoman Laura Farmer.

He then climbed an 8-foot steel beam and touched some equipment containing 138,000 volts of electricity, which caused an explosion, said Bruce Liska, an SD&G; manager.

A security guard called for help when he saw the fire and heard the explosion, which set off an alarm at 4:11 a.m., Liska said.

An employee responding to the alarm found Daniels with only tennis shoes on. His clothing was burned off and his body thrown several feet.

“The explosion was 1,000 times worse than a spark you would get if you put an ice pick in a wall outlet which has a voltage of 120,” Liska said. “The wall outlet would make a big flash.”

SDG&E; customers experienced no power outages because neither the power lines nor other equipment at the substation were damaged, Liska said.

Since December, break-ins have occurred in substations throughout the county. Thieves have cut through the chain-link fences around the substations to take grounding copper wires.

SD&G; offered a $12,000 reward in February for information on a countywide series of substation burglaries. Sheriff’s arson investigators, however, said that there was no evidence to link Daniels to the burglaries.

“At first, we thought there was a connection, but when we got there we didn’t find any tools,” Farmer said. “He needed wire cutters. And copper wire is on the ground, and he was several feet above the ground.”