Crews Remove Oil Derrick After Partial Collapse

Residents in neighboring Huntington Beach may notices an oil derrick near Walnut Avenue is gone.

The structure has been dismantled after it buckled Monday, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents and causing a temporary outage in the area.

Two men performing routine maintenance on a 60-foot derrick near Walnut Avenue and Second Street noticed it was buckling on one side as the crew was pulling rods out of a well, said Huntington Beach Fire Department Deputy Fire Marshal Bob Culhane.

The crew was on a platform about eight feet below the buckled section when the incident began, Culhane said. The men stopped the operation and called 911.

The emergency call was made about 1:30 p.m., Culhane said. Fire crews responded to the scene.

Firefighters then evacuated 10 apartments and three nearby homes because of concerns over flammable vapors that could have been ignited if the derrick had fallen on nearby electrical wires. Southern California Edison then cut power to the electrical lines resulting in a loss of power to some 42 customers, Culhane explained.

A crane was brought in to stabilize the derrick and a repair crew then began to dismantle the top of the derrick. The top section was eventually cut off and lowered to the ground, Culhane said.

Residents were able to return home by about 8 p.m. and SCE had restored power to the affected customers, Culhane said.

-- Patch staff and City News Service