Transformer fire knocks out power to thousands in Long Beach
Aug 2017Published 8 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Southern California Edison
What happened
A transformer fire on the morning of Wednesday 9 August 2017 knocked out power to more than 6,000 Southern California Edison customers in the Long Beach area. The outage was first reported at 5:15 am according to SCE's website, and at 7 am it affected 6,410 customers. By 7:30 am power had been restored to all but 846 customers. At its height the outage covered an area bounded by Vista Street to the south, Roswell Avenue to the east, 15th Street to the north and Walnut Avenue to the west. An SCE spokesperson told CBS2 that a transformer fire caused the outage but did not provide details.
Contributing factors
Not reported beyond the transformer fire itself.
Lessons learned
- A transformer fire can cut supply to thousands of customers in a short time, so operators should plan for isolation and switching to limit the affected area.
- Outage notices that state the equipment involved and the likely cause help communities and other operators understand the risk.
- Tracking outage boundaries and restoration stages in real time shortens customer downtime after an equipment failure.
More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Source
Other entries that name Long
Published 2026-11-08. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
