More than 2,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers in Hollywood experienced power outages on Thursday after a transformer blast was reported at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Beachwood Drive.
The Los Angeles City Fire Department remained on the scene as of 11 p.m. to watch the downed transformer and to direct vehicles around the possibly electrified wires.
Problems with transformers follow after excessive temperatures and overuse, according to the LADWP.
The Hollywood power outage is just the latest in a series of black-outs throughout Southern California as a heat wave has been extended.
Power outages were reported in San Bernardino County Thursday morning following another busy night for utility crews, who worked to restore power to more than 11,000 customers in the Los Angeles area.
The widespread outages were reported during the sixth day of a heat wave that has unleashed skyrocketing temperatures across Southern California. The latest round of power outages were reported Thursday morning in the San Bernardino County community of Colton. Police said the "majority" of the city's 55,000 residents were without power.
Several schools canceled classes due to the citywide outages.
A spokesman for SoCal Edision said lightning apparently struck a substation around 6:30 a.m. About 6,000 SCE customers were affected as of 9 a.m. By around 3 p.m., roughly 90 percent had their power back, and officials expected to fully restore power by 7 p.m.
Earlier Thursday, thousands of customers were in the dark in Los Angeles County due to weather-related outages, including 8,300 customers in South Los Angeles and more than 1,000 in the San Fernando Valley. All power was restored in the Boyle Heights area after an overnight outage left about 11,000 people without electricity, according to the LADWP.
Southern California Edison also reported outages this morning affecting more than 2,000 of their customers in Los Angeles County, plus nearly 1,700 in Riverside County.
More heat-related outages are possible this week as triple-digit heat bears downon the region.
As has been the case since Saturday, the highest temperatures were expected in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, San Gabriel and Antelope valleys and at lower elevations in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains. Highs in those areas are expected to range from 100 to 112, NWS forecasters said, and overnight lows will not drop below the mid 70s.
"Some cooling is expected Saturday, but temperatures will still be well above normal and all the current advisories and warnings will continue through at least Saturday evening,'' according to the NWS statement.
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A heat advisory will remain in effect until 10 a.m. along the coast, in beach cities, in metropolitan Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills, then be immediately replaced by a more serious excessive heat warning -- the first time this week that such a warning has been issued for the coastal zone.
Forecasters again urged caution in response to conditions, including avoiding strenuous work in high heat and drinking plenty of water.
Also, "never, ever leave people or pets in enclosed vehicles, even for a short period of time,'' warned an NWS statement, noting interior vehicle temperatures can rapidly rise to lethal levels.
