Power Outage Forces Rash Of Elevator Rescues In West Hollywood

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — A fire in an electrical vault Wednesday knocked out power to thousands of Southern California Edison customers in West Hollywood and prompted several elevator rescues.

No one was injured as a result of the fire, which was reported at 4:35 p.m. in the area of Santa Monica and La Cienega boulevards, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Southern California Edison reported that 2,377 of its customers were affected and the sheriff's department advised the public to avoid the area due to traffic congestion.

Several elevators were stalled, prompting rescues that were complete by 6 p.m., a fire department dispatch supervisor said.

As of about 7:30 p.m., service had been restored to all but 168 customers, SCE reported.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock