Storms Leave Thousands Across Los Angeles without Power

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Tree branches, debris and other storm-related damage resulted in scattered power outages around Los Angeles and Orange counties Monday.

As of about 12:30 p.m., about 9,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers were without electricity, the utility reported.

Neighborhoods experiencing the most outages were Harbor City/San Pedro, with 3,500 affected; Echo Park, with 1,500 customers affected; Hollywood, with 1,400 customers affected; and Pacific Palisades, with 600 customers affected.

Southern California Edison reported that 3,019 customers were affected in Los Angeles County, and 1,943 customers in Orange County.

Crews were working to make repairs.

"The most frequent causes of power outages during heavy rain storms are downed trees, dried palm fronds, tree branches from trees on both private and public property falling and making contact with power lines," according to an LADWP statement. "This can result in extended outages as trees often need to be removed before our crews can begin restoration work."

The LADWP urged all customers to use caution around downed or dangling power lines or poles.

"If you see a downed wire, always assume it is live, and immediately dial 911," the utility advised.

City News Service contributed to this report. Photo: Shutterstock