Power Line Break Causes Outage, Road Closure

A fallen power line forced the closure of a stretch of Laurel Canyon Boulevard on Thursday morning, leaving 2,300 canyon homes without power and preventing thousands of commuters from taking a favorite shortcut, officials said.

At 7:05 a.m., a high-power Southern California Edison cable fell onto two smaller Department of Water and Power cables in the 3000 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, sending the live wires into the street, DWP spokeswoman Lisa Tashiro said.

No one was injured and no fires were reported, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said, but the road was blocked throughout the day for repairs.

Area resident Tommy Cairns said he was tending to his rose garden Thursday morning when he saw an explosion atop an Edison tower and a wire break loose. Cairns said the falling wire sent a jolt of electricity through DWP cables below, causing four or five smaller blasts on nearby power poles.

“It was like a war zone for about 15 seconds,” Cairns said. “It was a little unreal.”

Edison spokesman Steve Hansen said early indications pointed to equipment failure caused by everyday wear and tear.

Edison spokesman Tom Boyd said it was unknown if other services, such as telephone and cable TV, were disrupted.

At 6 p.m., many residents reported power had been restored, but barricades still blocked a half-mile stretch of the road as Edison crews continued their repair work.

In the morning, the street closure stranded some people, and made others late for work or unable to get to their homes in the hills.

Rosemary Hernandez, 28, of Valley Village, could not reach her job as a cook at a home near Mulholland Drive. “I’m supposed to be there now,” she said shortly after 9 a.m. “This is a hard city to get around,” said Hernandez, who had to drive family members during the MTA strike.

Vilma Alvarez, 31, of Canoga Park, cleans hillside homes. She was two hours late to work. “I don’t know how I’m going to get to my job,” she said.

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Laurel Canyon resident Melvin Brown said he was stuck at home all day. He said Department of Transportation workers couldn’t promise residents that they would be allowed to drive back into the area if they left. “It’s quite a hassle,” Brown said.

Edison spokesmen said crews were still working on the problem late Thursday night.