Possible underground electrical explosion closes a Santa Ana restaurant and cuts power in the area

Our readers have reported a possible underground explosion that resulted in the evacuation of a local restaurant, Tacos Sinaloa, and loss of electrical power in the adjacent neighborhood affecting almost 1,000 households.

Edison has advised residents that they may be without power until 7:30 p.m. tonight. The loss of power started just after 4 p.m.

Pictures taken by our readers indicate that Edison, the SAPD and the OCFA have responded to the scene.

Such incidents have occured in Huntington Beach several times in the past few years. The most recent incident happened in Huntington Beach in 2019 when a restaurant owner suffered severe burns and brain damage when an underground transformer exploded during an Oktoberfest celebration.

Bernie Bischof, owner of Old World German Restaurant, filed a negligence lawsuit against Edison after that explosion.

We still don’t know the details of what happened in Santa Ana this afternoon but will update this post as the facts come in.