Blackout Drains Harbor Business in Dana Point

It was the opening of lobster season in Southern California on Wednesday, and Dana Point fish merchant Jon Mansur had his huge saltwater tanks bubbling away, ready for the year’s first catch. Then the power went off.

A failed underground cable shut down power to all of Dana Point Harbor at midday, interrupting the lunchtime rush at restaurants, causing many local businesses to close early and sending some of the lobstermen scrambling.

All afternoon and into the evening, there was no power there to keep the tanks bubbling and the lobsters supplied with the oxygen needed to keep them alive. So, instead of being held for shipment to restaurants up and down the coast, lobsters went right into boiling water--fired up with gas jets.

“We’re keeping as many alive as we can,” said Mansur, lobster wholesaler and proprietor of Jon’s Fish Market. “But those we can’t keep, we’ll cook.” Mansur spent much of the evening at his bay-side market and restaurant, cooking between 1,500 and 1,800 lobsters, he said.

In all, an estimated 3,400 homes and businesses were without power at least part of the day after “an underground cable failed. We don’t know why,” said Tom Larimore, spokesman for San Diego Gas & Electric.

The outage occurred about 12:20 p.m., and power was gradually restored throughout the day. But it was not until about 8:30 p.m. that electricity was restored to Mansur and much of the harbor area.

The problem began when a cable failed beneath Dana Point Harbor Drive near the intersection of Coast Highway, Larimore said. “Lots of times in things like this, the cause will be someone hitting a pole or transformer,” he said. “But there’s no evidence of that in this case.”

In an unrelated outage, he said, about 43 customers near San Juan Capistrano City Hall were without power, apparently when a construction crew dug into an underground cable about 11 a.m. Power was restored there about 3:45 p.m.

Wednesday afternoon, Dana Point harbor businesses that remained open were forced to improvise. At Turk’s, a harbor tavern, bartender Jan Campbell shut down the draft beer, and all bottled beer was placed on ice--while that lasted at least. “When the lines get warm, the draft beer gets foamy,” he noted.

Nearby, a private party went on as scheduled at the Windandsea restaurant, where customers made use of an outdoor patio. Cooking was done on an outdoor gas grill.

“Hopefully, we’ll have enough candles to keep the place lit by dark,” said Byron Dolley, the manager. “We’re semi-prepared for things like this.”

Up on the bluffs overlooking the harbor, businesses were not affected, at least not directly. At Cannons restaurant, for instance, the power outage didn’t help the scenic view at nightfall. “It’s affecting the views,” said assistant manager Tom Riktor. “The boat lights are usually very beautiful, but tonight they’re not there.”

Back at the fish market, Mansur kept a positive outlook about the season, which began Wednesday and ends in March. The first day was a disaster, he said. “I took a hit today. Opening day usually means thousands of dollars of business. Today I couldn’t open my door.” But, he also noted, “tomorrow is another day and there will be more lobster coming.”