Ventura storm sparks fears of underground transformer explosion as smoke billows from street in clip

VENTURA, CALIFORNIA: Southern California woke up to a nightmare on Saturday, November 15, as video surfaced showing what appeared to be an underground transformer blowing its gasket in the middle of a rainy afternoon.

The Southern California Edison Company is now poking around to see whether an underground transformer actually exploded during Saturday’s storm.

In a clip on social media, there was “smoke pouring from under a street in Ventura” as sheets of rain smacked the pavement, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported. The scene unfolded at Harbor Boulevard and Peninsula Street during a power outage in the area.

The Ventura County Fire Department blocked off streets while SoCal Edison assessed the situation, keeping curious locals from wandering too close.

Southern California sees heavy rainfall

From Ventura to the far corners of Los Angeles, Saturday’s storm was an all-out soaking. 

As heavy rain fell across the region, some neighborhoods got street flooding, others saw their roads turn slick as ice, and a handful even got minor rockfalls and debris flows. Several cities were peppered with fallen trees.

In parts of the region, videos showed water high enough to cover sidewalks. 

But not every update was grim. By Saturday evening, evacuation warnings and orders were lifted for all of Los Angeles County and the city of LA, including the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire burn scars. Officials were worried about possible mudslides because January’s fire left hillsides stripped down to the bone, but the worst didn’t materialize.

Still, the coast wasn’t fully clear. “Evacuation warnings remain in place for mountain areas in San Bernardino County through Sunday at 8 am," ABC 7 reported.

Storm runoff turns Inland Empire roads into waterfalls

Just east in the Inland Empire, the region is still reeling from past fires, which is a difficult combo when torrential rain rolls through. Officials warned that the danger isn’t over, especially for those perched on hillsides.

“Many neighbors in the San Bernardino Mountains are still under evacuation warnings as storm runoff pours off fire-scarred hillsides," the outlet reported. Locals know that drill all too well, especially Oak Glen, which took an absolute beating “back in September” when a storm channel overflowed and unleashed a “massive debris flow” into the community.

This time around, however, the San Bernardino County Fire Department tried to reassure jittery residents. They told Eyewitness News that so far, there have been no major impacts to the burn scar areas from Saturday’s storm. However, they’re still “bracing for potential flash flooding.”

Along Highway 330, the storm runoff “created cascading waterfalls off the hillsides and sent sheets of water across the roadway.” The slopes are still fragile from last year’s Line Fire, meaning mud and debris flows are always one downpour away.

Since the fire, Caltrans and the county have worked to stabilize the hillsides and clear out debris, but crews were put on high alert with the latest rainburst.

Lake Arrowhead faced “localized flooding on roadways with water overflowing into yards and the street.” Oak Glen went through more trouble as “heavy rain loosened soil, sending mud, large logs and debris into the storm channel,” with some of that mess splashing right onto the roadway.

Both Oak Glen and Forest Falls remain under evacuation warnings and a flood watch. Officials have warned that with heavy rain falling over the El Dorado burn scar, “sudden, dangerous, and potentially life-threatening flooding could develop with little notice.”

Other communities under evacuation warnings include Mount Baldy, Wrightwood, and East Highland.

Long Beach streets turn into kayaking routes

Things weren’t much better down by the coast. An Eyewitness News viewer captured video of ponding water in Long Beach on Naples Lane as the storm made its grand entrance. 

The water was “high enough to cover most of the sidewalks” and bold enough to make its way into underground parking garages. Another video even showed neighbors kayaking through the flooded neighborhood streets. 

Long Beach Public Works pointed to a power outage early Saturday that knocked out a couple of Los Angeles County-maintained pumps, which didn’t exactly help the situation.

Meanwhile, heavy rain led to flooding on a stretch of the northbound 710 Freeway near Long Beach Boulevard, triggering a SigAlert and stuffing traffic, according to the California Highway Patrol.

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