SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monica Fire Department responded to a string of electrical emergencies on Monday, September 11 after receiving several 911 calls to the “Willmont” neighborhood in the SM region. According to a press release Canyon News received from Captain Patrick Nulty, Public Information Officer for the SMFD, at 10:40 a.m. the SFPD received reports of various emergencies including explosions, and electrical wires down in multiple locations.
Officials indicated the cause of the incidents was the result of construction crews excavating the athletic field of Lincoln Middle School, located at 1501 California Avenue. They dug into buried high-voltage electrical lines, causing an electrical short and subsequent explosion.
The SMFD responded to several regions including:
-10:40 a.m. 1600 Montana Ave. Transformer/Wires Down
-10:43 a.m. 1501 California Ave. Structure Fire
-10:45 a.m. 1433 14th St. Elevator Entrapment
-10:52 a.m. 1260 15th St. Elevator Entrapment
-10:55 a.m. 1225 15th St. (UCLA Hospital) Fire Alarm
-11:35 a.m. 1245 16th St. Public Assistance – Assist Evacuation of disabled person
-11:45 a.m. 1323 Montana Ave. Transformer/Wires Down
-11:49 a.m. 1260 15th St. Public Assistance – Assist Evacuation of disabled person
The Santa Monica Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department delivered valuable assistance to safely help with all of the emergencies. During this 90-minute event, the SMFD handled over 18 total emergencies throughout the region including the regions listed above.
Faculty at Lincoln Middle School safely sheltered all 1064 students and dismissed students early at 1:30 p.m. Southern California Edison responded by isolating power and rendering safe all of the effective areas. SCE crews worked for several hours to fix power to the affected areas. The SMFD tweeted at 1:40 p.m. on Monday “UPDATE: Situation static. @SCE on scene. Everyone safe. Streets reopened. Units clearing. Thank you @SantaMonicaPD @LAFD and @SMMUSD.”
There were no reports of injuries or any severe damage because of the electrical issues.