Community Corner

Two Power Outages Strike Manhattan Beach Saturday

Two power outages hit Manhattan Beach less than 24 hours apart, according to city officials Sunday.

The first outage struck at approximately 3:10 a.m. Saturday, with power coming back on by 6:23 a.m., according to Southern California Edison About 702 SCE customers, including those near 3101 Bell Ave., 470 31st Place, on 26th St. near Grand View school and 32nd Place were affected.

A larger power outage that impacted some 3,450 SCE customers then happened around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, lasting until around 2 a.m., according to Manhattan Beach City Manager David Carmany.

That outage included reports of loud explosions and arcing from wires. Several intersections with light signals were out, as was the police and fire safety downtown, i.e. the police and main fire station. City hall was also without power, according to Carmany.

The police and fire department building was powered by a generator; Carmany called the situation a "mess," given that there were "several problems requiring simultaneous attention."

Around 11:30 p.m., emergency responders were notified of an underground vault smoking at 6th Place and Manhattan Ave. When the fire department arrived on scene, the majority of smoke had dissipated, he said.

City Council member Amy Howorth on Sunday told Patch that the outages were "unacceptable" and that she would bring up the issue before council and "bring the full weight of the council to bear" on the problem of power outages in the city.

She also said finding out about power outages and their status "needs to be a lot easier. They [SCE] have to do a better job."

Howorth said the use of social media could perhaps be put to use by SCE to keep customers informed and that "maybe they [SCE] need forward thinking" when it comes to using technology and materials that can hold up better in an seaside climate.

"Edison would say that it's perception, random and if you press them and press them, then they will say it's the salt air." Howorth said she's been told that a little precipitation that isn't washed away by rain results in salt left on the wires which causes corrosion.

Carmany said he'd have city staff contact SCE about the issue and recent outages on Monday.


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