Laguna lightning storm

A summer storm with lightning and cloudbursts cascaded across the

area Sunday night and into Monday, causing power outages that put

more than 300,000 Edison customers into the dark.

Orange County was hardest hit, according to Edison spokesman Paul

Klein.

In Laguna Beach, power outages were scattered.

Don Segner, who lives on Glenneyre Street, said he lost a freezer

full of food after the power went out shortly after midnight on

Sunday and did not come back on until about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

More than a dozen families on the block were also affected, but

residents across the street apparently did not lose power.

Segner said the outage occurred after some lightning strikes

nearby caused two transformers to blow out.

Klein said that many Edison customers were able to be switched to

alternate circuits, but some were not.

“We had transformers out, wires down and poles broken,” Klein

said. “We’ve had crews working around the clock since the storm

started.”

As of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, nearly 6,000 county customers were

still without power.

o7 -- Cindy Frazier

f7