Wilshire water main rupture leaves customers without water and power

Electrical service was restored today to about 150 Department of Water and Power customers left without power near MacArthur Park when a water main broke and flooded an underground electrical vault, but 10 customers had no water service.

The 8-inch main ruptured about 6 p.m. Monday at Wilshire Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Street, Gale Harris of the DWP said.

Electrical service was restored about 8 this morning, Harris said. Crews were working to restore water service to 10 customers, Harris said.

Water flowing into the electrical vault caused the electrical outage, Harris said. Los Angeles Fire Capt. John Sullivan said some water got into Metro Red Line facilities nearby.

Power went out in a 13-story building a block away at Wilshire and Westlake Avenue, trapping a man in an elevator for an hour until firefighters forced the doors open, a video crew at the scene reported. The man told reporters he passed the time by playing a harmonica.

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