Most electricity restored in Huntington Beach

Power has been restored to most households affected by the sweeping power outage and all electricity is expected to be restored by 7 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.

The power has been restored to about 16,000 users who went off the grid at 2:53 p.m., said Southern California Edison spokesman Paul Klein.

There are still more than 4,000 users without power between Yorktown and Indianapolis avenues and Lake and Bushard streets, Klein said.

All power should be restored by 7 p.m., Klein said.

The power went out after a circuit breaker at an Edison substation failed to close and caught fire, Klein said.

More than 21,000 Huntington Beach households were originally without electricity, including City Hall, where staff are sitting in the dark without computers, officials said.

The emergency generators are providing some emergency lights but the elevators and air conditioners are down, said police Lt. Russell Reinhart.

Electricity originally went out at 2:53 p.m. from 22nd Street north to Bushard Street and Pacific Coast Highway to Garfield Avenue.

Britney Barnes