BRENTWOOD—A powerful rainstorm caused a large Eucalyptus tree and several power lines to come crashing down in Brentwood on Monday, January 23.
Sharon, whose car was crushed by a tree during the storm, told CBS Los Angeles she heard “a huge crack and then a thud that shook the house. It’s a blessing that we’re getting rain, but it’s enough. Let’s dry off a little bit now, please.”
The tree fell off a hillside and landed on Sunset Boulevard, pulling power lines down with it, according to reports. The intersection of Sunset and Rockingham Avenue was closed Monday morning while crews removed the tree from the road; it reopened shortly before 11 a.m.
Thousands of residences across the Southland area lost power during the storm, officials said. At the height of the storm, approximately 16,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers were without electricity.
The LADWP tweeted on Monday that as of 12:30 p.m. over 9000 were impacted with power outages. Areas experiencing the highest number in outages included Echo Park, Hollywood, Pacific Palisades and Harbor City/San Pedro.
The LADWP is urging all customers to use caution around downed or dangling power lines or poles. If you see a downed wire, assume it is LIVE and immediately dial 9-1-1. Never touch a downed power line.
For more information about outages, customers can checks the LADWP’s Twitter page @LADWP and www.ladwp.com > Power Outages.
Written By Michelle Zverev and Casey Jacobs
