Lines Go Down in 2 Areas; Power Cut to 626 Customers

Some 626 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers were without electricity for three hours Wednesday morning when power lines went down in two locations, officials said.

Power was interrupted at 8:30 a.m. when lines went down at Magnolia and Sepulveda boulevards, said Walter Zeisl, a DWP spokesman.

A short time later, a second set of lines failed near Sepulveda Dam just west of the San Diego Freeway, Zeisl said.

Because the power lines cross the San Diego Freeway near Burbank Boulevard, the California Highway Patrol closed freeway lanes in both directions, south to the Ventura Freeway interchange, at 12:44 p.m. There was some traffic backup until the freeway reopened 20 minutes later, Lt. Andria Whitmer said.

“The crews that made the repairs said there was nothing that could tell them why the lines went down,” Zeisl said. “There were no trees, no car accidents and no other apparent reason.

“Why lines failed in two places in the same circuit, I don’t know. The cause is being investigated.”

The outage occurred in an area bounded by Weddington Street to the north, Noble Avenue to the east, Hartsook Street to the south and an area west of the freeway in the Sepulveda Basin, he said.

Power was restored to all customers Wednesday afternoon.

Many traffic signals along Sepulveda--at Magnolia, Morrison Street, Camarillo Street and westbound onramps to the Ventura Freeway--were out during the power interruption, police said. No accidents or significant traffic delays were reported.