Lightning storm blamed for High Desert power outage

More than a 2,000 Southern California Edison customers have been without electricity since Thursday after an electrical storm that damaged power company equipment in the Twentynine Palms area.

Some of those customers in the Desert Heights area may not see their service restored until 8:00 a.m. Friday, according to the utility’s website.

In the Morongo Basin area, 1,489 customers were without service as 10:30 p.m., according to SCE. Nearby, in the Twentynine Palms area, the outage has affected 603 customers as of 10:30 p.m.

SCE lists the cause of the outage as “stormy conditions.”

Power is expected to reutrn to most customers in Morongo Basin by at least 3 p.m. Friday. However, there is no estimate for power to return in Twentynine Palms.

Lightning was continuing in the Twentynine Palms area all day and night Thursday.

Stay with KESQ News Channel 3 for updates on-air and online.