Substation transformer explodes near Los Angeles knocking out power for thousands and causes a small fire but no injuries
- A transformer exploded at a utility substation near Los Angeles on Friday, knocking out power for thousands of residents and businesses
- The explosion in Burbank, California, sent a ball of fire into the air and caused a small blaze that was confined to the substation
- There were no injuries or other damage reported and the cause of the explosion was not immediately known
- Burbank did experience a power surge and brief outage around the time the explosion happened. It was unclear if the explosion preceded the surge
A transformer explosion at utility substation outside Los Angeles on Friday sent a fire ball into the air and knocked out power for thousands of residents and businesses.
The frightening blast just before noon happened in the 2100 block of Pacific Avenue in Burbank, California, local police say.
A small fire was confined to the substation property, and homes in the surrounding area were evacuated as a precaution.
A transformer explosion at utility substation outside Los Angeles on Friday knocked out power for thousands of residents and businesses and caused a small fire
The explosion just before noon happened in the 2100 block of Pacific Avenue in Burbank, California, local police say
The fire was ‘significant’, but confined to the substation property, according to authorities
Homes surrounding the explosion site (pictured) were evacuated as a precaution
Burbank is about 12 miles outside of L.A. No injuries or other damage was reported, and the cause of the explosion was not immediately known.
The city experienced a power surge and brief outage around the time the explosion happened, says police Sgt. Derek Green, the Los Angeles Times reports.
It was unclear whether the explosion preceded the surge.
A request for more information from the Burbank Department of Water and Power was not immediately answered.
Video taken by several people and posted online shows the explosion sent a large plume of black smoke into the air.
The smoke also appears green in some of the footage.
Smoke from the explosion appeared green in footage (pictured) taken by witnesses
Twitter user @RobyDiamond_tv posted footage taken by his his roommate, just as the explosion was starting.
‘My roommate got the craziest video of the power plant in Burbank,’ he wrote in the post.