TORRANCE (CNS) – A major power outage affected several South Bay cities
this morning, including parts of Torrance, where a flare-off event was
triggered at a refinery, triggering a hazardous materials scare.
The outage, reported before 6 a.m., knocked out power to thousands of
customers in the area. The outage led to a flare-off at the Torrance Refining
Co., the Torrance Police Department reported. Two flare-offs took place at the
refinery about a month ago, both related to electrical problems.
Shortly after this morning’s event was triggered, the city of Torrance
issued an emergency notification to residents.
“If you live in the area near the refinery, implement `shelter in
place’ procedures,” the city said. “Stay inside buildings, shut all doors and
windows, turn off air conditioners, and turn off all air handling systems. You
will be notified when there is a change in status. If you have a life-
threatening emergency, please dial 911.”
A flare-off is a safety device that refineries use “to relieve pressure
and ensure gases are safely combusted to minimize releases to the
atmosphere,” according to the Torrance Fire Department.
The Manhattan Beach Police Department reminded motorists that
intersections where traffic signals are blacked out should be treated as a
four-way stop.
According to Southern California Edison’s website, outages were reported
in several South Bay cities at 5:41 a.m., including Hawthorne, Torrance,
Gardena, Redondo Beach, and Manhattan Beach. There was no immediate word on the
cause.