Power Outages Follow Blasts

A transformer explosion Tuesday morning sparked 20-foot-high flames that threatened a nearby home and left scores of residents without power, firefighters said.

No injuries were reported.

Residents in the 16900 block of Coral Cay Lane heard a loud explosion followed by several smaller explosions about 9:20 a.m. and summoned firefighters, who arrived to discover a transformer on fire, said Birgit Davis, spokeswoman for the Huntington Beach Fire Department.

“It threatened a close-by two-story residence. . . . The flames were practically under the eaves of the home,” Davis said.

In an effort to save the property from heat and fire damage, firefighters kept the wall of the home cool for about 45 minutes until Southern California Edison could shut off the power to the area, Davis said.

The home was not damaged, but about 60 homes were to be without power until about midnight, said Steve Hansen, spokesman for Southern California Edison.

Another 3,300 customers experienced electrical outages that lasted a few minutes, Hansen said.

Hansen said authorities did not know what caused the initial explosion, which triggered smaller explosions in an electrical venting vault across the street from the transformer, Davis said.