10/23 12:30 p.m.: Power is still out to around 80 SCE customers. Southern California Edison has estimated that electricity should be restored by 8 p.m. this evening, according to a city alert.
10/22 6 p.m.: One lane of Pacific Coast Highway at Heathercliff Road will remain closed during repairs, possibly until Thursday morning. The No. 2 westbound lane is shut down to ensure the safety of Edison crews, a city alert states.Â
2:50 p.m.: Despite reports of an explosion from the city and fire department personnel and smoke spewing from the area, a spokesman for Edison said the company has not been able to confirm an explosion occurred.
The incident has been deemed an “equipment failure,” according to SCE rep David Song, after workers had been working in the area. Initially, power was knocked out for 2,800 customers in the area. Power has now been restored to all but 541 customers.
“There’s no estimate in time for restoration and trying to figure out what’s wrong,” Song said. “…From what I understand there was not an explosion.”
According to witnesses at the scene and photos to The Malibu Times, a temporary generator has arrived in the area.Â
12:50 p.m.:Â A fire department spokesman said the fire was ignited by a spark caused by workers who had been on site all morning handling a repair.
Edison has updated its outage list to show that 2,307 Malibu customers are without power. Crews are “analyzing” what caused the outage and “most” are supposed to have their power back by 3:30 p.m.
To view the outage list, click here.Â
Jimy Tallal contributed to this report.Â
12:30 p.m., Update from City of Malibu:
“There was a small explosion in an underground electrical vault on Heathercliff Road near PCH. A small fire was quickly put out and fire department personnel remain on scene. There were no injuries and no damage to homes. Power is out in the area.
Heathercliff is closed between Dume and Wandermere with traffic control in place. The road is expected to remain closed for a minimum of 1 hour, but may be extended.”
An underground explosion likely related to electrical work was reported shortly before 12 p.m. in the Point Dume area off of Heathercliff Road on Wednesday.
According to an alert issued by the city, the explosion occurred near 29208 Heathercliff Road. Witnesses said heavy black smoke was coming from the area and could be seen throughout western Malibu.
Power is out for many in Point Dume, Malibu Park, Malibu West and Trancas.Â
Pavilions and the Point Dume Village are also without power, according to witnesses. County fire and sheriffs were said to be headed to the scene.Â
Hans Laetz, a local expert on the Southern California Edison system, said an underground power conduit likely caused the explosion. Calls to regional Edison Manager Mark Olson were not returned. Check back as more information becomes available.Â
Edison crews have been working in the area all morning and implemented a “planned outage” earlier today, though no notice was given until the outage was in effect.
