Wreck leads to Desert Hot Springs outage

The driver of a Jeep Wrangler crashed into a utility pole in Desert Hot Springs early Saturday, and initially blacked out more than 1,400 homes and businesses.

Dispatchers received a call at 1:20 a.m. and sent California Highway Patrol officers to Dillon Road and Desert Crest Avenue, where power lanes had collapsed onto the roadway. No one was hurt during the crash, but it forced the closure of Dillon Road in both directions for about four hours, the CHP reported.

The outage was reported on Aurora Road, more than a mile from the crash site, at the Desert Pools RV Resort. A total 1,489 customers went without power initially. All but 186 customers along Desert Crest Avenue had their lights back on within a minute, Southern California Edison spokesman Paul Netter said.

Those SCE customers are expected to have their power restored by 5 p.m., Netter said.