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This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
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Photos: Gnarly Lightning Storm Wreaks Havoc

Carman Tse
Published Jun 30, 2015 11:00 PM

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Tuesday was a wild summer day across Southern California, as a summer storm brought lightning across Los Angeles and Silver Lake was left in the dark overnight.

As expected, a storm rolled through Los Angeles late Tuesday afternoon and lightning was spotted all the way from Long Beach to the South Bay.

Lifeguards briefly closed Los Angeles County beaches around 4:45 pm and cleared out everyone that had come for relief from the muggy heat. They were reopened about an hour and a half later, according to KTLA.

Thankfully the storm wasn't as dangerous or as deadly as the strike at Venice Beach last year that killed an incoming USC student, but one strike left a scorched hole in the sidewalk outside the Torrance DMV and also sent a security guard who stood nearby to the hospital after he fell ill.

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In Silver Lake, a power outage Tuesday night left over 20,000 customers in the dark after a vault exploded on the 600 block of North Hoover Street. Although state officials are kindly asking you to turn down your AC just a bit to take a little pressure off the power grid, a DWP spokesman told the L.A. Times, "These [vaults] can blow up for any multitude of reasons."

12,000 customers had their power back by 10:45 p.m., while the remaining 8,000 or so customers in Silver Lake and Westlake had their power restored around 4 a.m.

Although the rest of the week should bring us a little relief from yesterday's madness, there's still a chance of rain that should last until Thursday.

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In California, the storm stretched as far south as San Diego:

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