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By Miriam Raftery
Photos courtesy of Heartland Fire
March 14, 2013 (El Cajon) – Mollison Avenue is closed between Washington and East Main Streets due to eight power poles that toppled over.
“It might be a good 24 hours,” Monica Zech, spokesperson for the City of El Cajon, told ECM late tonight. Earlier an estimated 1500 residences were without power, though all but about 300 have now been restored.
“Some residents are trapped in parking lots and can’t get out of their homes. Others parked on side streets and went in,” she said, adding that there were no evacuations and El Cajon Police have been escorting pedestrians back into the area.
Heartland Fire and Rescue crews, along with San Diego Gas & Electric, are on the scene attempting to assess the cause. According to Zech, no vehicle accident occurred and trees had fallen down.
“The poles are wood. One just weakened and snapped,” Zech said. “It came down and pulled all of its brothers and sisters down, too, a total of eight poles. What probably saved everyone is that one fell onto a signal light there at Lexington.” The light stopped the domino effect, though a pole next to it was leaning.
She added, “It was amazing that there weren’t any cars driving down there at that time and luckily that stretch is a no parking zone.”
No one was injured despite downed, smoking power lines that scorched the pavement.
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