Underground Explosion Injures 2 Workers, Knocks Out Power To Over 1,700 Edison Customers
LAKE FOREST (CBSLA.com) — Two workers were injured Monday when an explosion took place in an underground vault in Lake Forest, knocking out power to over 1,700 Southern California Edison customers.
Orange County firefighters arrived at Trabuco Road and Rimhurst Drive around 12:45 p.m., according to Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Jon Muir.
Underground Explosion Injures 2 Workers, Knocks Out Power To Over 1,700 Edison Customers
Both workers, who are in their 40's and are described by Edison as subcontractors, suffered burns, one to the back, and the other to the face, according to Muir.
No conditions were immediately available after both victims had been taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.
The employees reportedly worked for Herman Weissker Inc. and were injured by an arc flash in the vault, according to Greg Siggins of Cal OSHA, which is investigating the cause of the accident.
A fire was later put out at the work site.
Power was ultimately knocked out to 1,735 Southern California Edison customers.
The subcontractors were performing maintenance work at the time of the incident, and the cause of the blast is still under investigation, according to Edison spokeswoman Lauren Bartlett.
Customers between Le Parc Drive and Cherry Avenue, from Farthing Street to Los Alisos, were affected.
Crews were since working to restore service, but there has been no immediate estimate released on when the work would be completed.
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