Transformer explosion damages homes in Montebello

What happened

A transformer explosion linked to a Thanksgiving Day outage on Ferguson Drive in Montebello shook homes and, residents said, sent a power surge through electrical lines. Families in eight households said they remained without power, with reports of damaged wiring and appliances and of a car destroyed by fire. Southern California Edison initially attributed the outage to lightning. The National Weather Service, as reported, found no evidence of lightning in the area that morning, only rain showers.

Residents also reported a transformer failure on the same line eight days earlier and utility work the day before. An Edison spokesperson said the incident left 2,450 customers without power. The Montebello Fire Department reported an underground vault explosion nearby later the same day.

Contributing factors

The cause was not established in the report. Edison first attributed the outage to lightning, but that account was disputed after weather data showed rain and no lightning. Residents reported an earlier transformer failure on the same line and utility work the day before; those reports were not independently confirmed.

Lessons learned

1. Check weather records independently before attributing an electrical failure to lightning.
2. Treat reported repeat failures on the same circuit as a prompt for investigation.
3. Tell affected customers clearly what is known, and what is not, after a surge that damages property.

More lessons on weather and external hazards, investigation and fleet-wide checks, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Cause of the transformer failure
• Transformer model and age
• Duration of power outage
• Cost of damage to homes

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

abc7.com