Faulty Cable Causes Blast, Power Outage
An underground power cable along Thousand Oaks Boulevard malfunctioned Friday afternoon, sparking a small explosion that wiped out power in a five-mile radius, Southern California Edison officials said.
The outage occurred about 1 p.m., cutting power to City Hall and more than 850 residents for about 30 minutes, said Rudy Gonzales, regional manager for Edison.
“We couldn’t do any work,” said Lisa Sorrentino, ticket sales agent at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. “We couldn’t access the computer, we couldn’t print tickets, nothing. So we all had to just sit here. Luckily, not too many people came up at that time.”
About a dozen residents along Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Long Court, near the explosion, were without power until 7 p.m. Gonzales said.
The cause of the cable glitch is under investigation, Gonzales said. The explosion’s force blew off a nearby manhole cover, authorities said, but caused no injuries.
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