Fire Blows Manhole Covers Into The Air, Knocks Out Power In Long Beach

An underground electrical fire in Long Beach caused manhole covers to be blown into the air and has knocked out power downtown.

At 4:15, the Long Beach Police Department issued an alert warning residents to stay indoors due to falling debris. The warning was issued for an area of downtown within Daisy Avenue to Cedar Avenue and from Ocean Boulevard to 5th Street. About 20 minutes later the police issued another alert saying the fire from an underground electrical vault was no longer a threat to blow the manhole covers into the air, but said 3rd Street from Cedar Avenue and Magnolia Avenue would be closed.

Around 4,000 customers are without power, according to Southern California Edison, in an area of downtown Long Beach reportedly stretching from the aquarium to the marina. The Aquarium of the Pacific says they've closed as a result of the outage. The road closure should affect rush hour traffic, and police are urging drivers to find alternate routes to the 710 freeway.

In May, an underground electrical vault fire in Northridge caused a manhole to fly into the air and cause a car crash that injured three people.