Fire Shuts Down San Onofre Reactor
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SAN ONOFRE, Calif. — A reactor at the San Onofre nuclear power plant that can provide energy for 1.1 million homes will be unusable for several weeks after an electrical fire Sunday afternoon.
No radiation was released and no one was injured, said Ray Golden, a spokesman for Southern California Edison.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Feb. 7, 2001 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday February 7, 2001 Home Edition Part A Part A Page 3 Metro Desk 1 inches; 21 words Type of Material: Correction
San Onofre fire--An electrical fire at the San Onofre nuclear power plant occurred Saturday. A story Monday misreported the day the fire took place.
The No. 3 reactor had been off-line since Jan. 2 because it was being refueled and maintained. The reactor had been put back in service earlier Sunday, but shut off automatically when an electrical short caused a fire in a gear room at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
The nuclear reactor was never endangered because it is covered by a 4 1/2-foot-thick concrete airtight building, Golden added.
About 20 firefighters, from both San Onofre and nearby Camp Pendleton, extinguished the smoky blaze in 30 minutes.
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