Manhole Covers Explode in Long Beach

More than 2,500 people remained without power Thursday in downtown Long Beach after debris fell from exploding manhole covers the previous day.

The incident was related to an underground electrical fire. Firefighters extinguished the fire and worked to ventilate the involved underground electrical vault, where the fire later re-ignited and required additional fire suppression, according to a City of Long Beach news release. Officials reported two additional electrical vaults had also caught fire. All three fires were extinguished, the news release said.

Two people were sent to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Power remained out from 10th Street to the Ocean, and Magnolia Avenue to Alamitos Avenue. Southern California Edison (SCE) continued to work on identifying the problem and was working to restore services to customers, the news release said.

There was no estimates as to exactly when SCE will be able to restore power.

The power outage affected the Aquarium of the Pacific, which shut its doors for the day, officials said.

Long Beach police were urging residents to stay indoors "due to falling debris from manhole covers blowing in the air."

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