Power restored to most of downtown Long Beach

The blazes began shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday and resulted in manhole covers near Third Street and Chestnut Avenue flying into the air as flames and plumes of black smoke emanated from below the street.

Prior to the arrival of Long Beach firefighters, bystanders alerted a Long Beach police officer about the fire, who then requested assistance and was directed toward a back alley where he was met by other neighbors stating that two people were trapped inside the apartment that was on fire, according to officials.

Long Beach residents remained without power following an underground electrical fire. Crews restored power to most of the customers, only to create additional outages while conducting fix work, according to ABC 7.

While lights are back on for some businesses along Pine Avenue and the East Village, temporary outages are likely through the night.

By dawn, there is still a possibility some 200 customers would still be lacking electricity as they begin their Friday.

Southern California Edison said it’s still troubleshooting the system and monitoring voltage levels.

“However, outages may continue into the Friday morning commute”.

Robert Villegas, an SCE spokesman, said temporary outages will not be long-lasting.

At least 26 residents were displaced by the fire. “I’m fully convinced that Southern California Edison is doing everything they can”.

The outage was caused by fires in three underground vaults that were reported at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, and initially cut power to around 4,800 customers, Edison said.

SCE crews will be checking in with affected neighborhoods to ensure everyone is ok.

“If you don’t have to be in the downtown area, stay from the downtown area”, Long Beach Fire Department Deputy Chief Rich Brandt advised commuters and pedestrians.