5 Injured, Power Outage Caused In LA Transformer Vault Explosion

LOS ANGELES -- Five men were injured today when an underground transformer vault exploded in Hollywood Hills.

The explosion occurred about 2 p.m. in the area of Barham Boulevard and Forest Lawn Drive, near the Universal Studios backlot, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported, along with NBC4.

The five men were taken to a hospital in fair condition with a combination of burns and smoke inhalation injuries, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Two of the men suffered minor injuries, while the three others suffered smoke inhalation, the LAFD reported.

The LADWP confirmed ``There will be an outage in the area,'' though the extent of the outage or the amount of people affected was not immediately known. LADWP crews were investigating the cause of the explosion and conducting repairs to the damaged vault.

-- City News Service