Residents Lose Power Due to Broken Switch
About 300 customers were expected to be without electricity overnight as crews from Southern California Edison worked to replace an underground switch near the Ventura County Government Center, authorities said.
Power went out for about 2,700 customers in east Ventura at 3:40 p.m. Thursday, when a switch at Telephone and Portola roads went out, Edison spokesman Mike Montoya said.
The outage extended from the Santa Paula Freeway to Walker Street, and from Robin Avenue to Callens Road, Montoya said. Power remained on inside the government center on Victoria Avenue.
But eastbound traffic on Telephone Road was backed up to the Pacific 101 Drive-In, and Victoria Avenue was a tough drive both north and south. Soon after the outage, a three-car collision occurred on Victoria at the Santa Paula Freeway overpass. Two people were taken to the hospital, but their injuries were not life-threatening, paramedics said.
Other minor accidents were reported, authorities said.
By 5 p.m., power had been restored to all but about 300 customers, Montoya said. Crews were working to replace the underground switch Thursday night, and power was expected to be back on by 6 a.m. today, he said.
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