Winds Cause MB Homes to Lose Power

The gusty winds that have wreaked havoc on some Southland cities caused nearly 2,500 Manhattan Beach homes to lose power Wednesday night, according to a Southern California Edison customer service representative.

SCE predicts that electricity will be restored around 10 or 11 p.m. Thursday. The affected area is near Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Aviation Boulevard, according to SCE's online outage tracker. The power outage began at 10:57 p.m. Wednesday.

The Comic Bug owner Mike Wellman told Manhattan Beach Patch that his business had power but he suspected it had gone out sometime before he opened the store on Thursday. His Internet service was "totally down" when he arrived Thursday morning and he was having to use dial-up for credit card purchases when he would normally process them using the Internet.

An employee at Trader Joe's on Manhattan Beach Boulevard said that the store had power when it was opened on Thursday.

Manhattan Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Frank Chiella told Manhattan Beach Patch that the department "ran numerous call for wires down and tree limbs" from 8 to 11 p.m. Wednesday. He said that none of the calls were significant in terms of structure or property damage.

Chiella advises drivers to park vehicles out of harm's way, away from any potential objects that could fall during high wind predictions, which continue for tonight.