VENTURA : 5,000 Affected by Power Outages

A series of underground equipment failures Wednesday caused power outages that affected more than 5,000 customers in southern Ventura for periods ranging from 15 minutes to over two hours, said a utility spokesman.

Beginning at 1:30 p.m., a series of equipment failures cut power to 750 customers in an area from Ventura Harbor to Johnson Drive south of Crescent Street, said Mike Montoya, area manager for Southern California Edison. Power was restored to most customers by 3:30 p.m., Montoya said.

Four hours later, the failure of a switch in an underground vault cut power to 4,400 customers for at least 15 minutes, he said. The blackout affected parts of southern and eastern Ventura, and power was expected to be restored to the last affected customers by 9 p.m., Montoya said.