The Day After: How Did Laguna Niguel Handle the Power Outage?

Not all of Laguna Niguel was left without power during the massive on Thursday.

For example, was not affected because it is located within the Southern California Edison service area.

Here is a brief timeline of what went on Thursday, according to City manager Tim Casey:

At about 4 p.m.: It was evident that a major power outage had occurred. 

From 4-5 p.m.: The city starts to receive phone from residents seeking information about the outage, its cause and likely duration. Based on available information, residents were informed that the power outage is affecting the entire SDG&E service area and that the cause and duration are unknown.

At 5 p.m.: City staff made the decision to keep City Hall open after hours to handle telephone inquiries and provide a cooling center for any residents who needed refuge to escape the heat. Public Works arranged for a Charles Abbott Associates (the street maintenance contractor) and computer services company (the traffic signal maintenance contractor) to deploy personnel to monitor traffic signal operations and place stop signs at intersections.

From 5-8 p.m.: A skeleton staff at City Hall stayed to answer public and media inquiries and monitor the situation. City/OCSD staff present during that time included: Pam Lawrence, Tobi Thomas, Dan Fox, Liz Fraijo, Paul Russell, Sgt. John MacPherson, CSO Inez Martinez and Casey. Russell stayed in touch with the County EOC and Sgt. MacPherson was monitoring OC Sheriff's Department dispatches for Laguna Niguel. By 8 p.m., no one had come to City Hall for a cooling center and phone calls had dropped off. Staff changed the outgoing telephone message to a Public Service Announcement/update and closed the switchboard. City/OCSD staff left City Hall about 9 p.m.

From 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.: It appeared that power to Laguna Niguel was restored during this time period.

From 4 p.m. to midnight: Laguna Niguel sheriff's deputies responded to about 45 calls for service. Of those, there were three non-injury traffic accidents (all between 8:27-8:48 p.m.) at the intersections of Crown Valley Parkway/La Plata, Crown Valley Parkway/Nueva Vista and Golden Lantern/Chapparosa Park Road.  Eighteen of the calls were for audible burglary alarms that seemed to be triggered by the initial disruption of power and the ultimate restoration of power.

From 4 p.m. to midnight: Orange County Fire Authority responded to five calls for service. One of those was the traffic accident at Crown Valley Parkway/La Plata. Two were related to burglar alarms. The other two were not related to the power outage.

As of earlier today, all Laguna Niguel traffic signals are fully operational, Casey said.