Luminaire residents speak out after power surge strikes neighborhood

Palm Springs residents in the Luminaire community are speaking out after a power surge struck their neighborhood Wednesday morning. 

“Like a big gun," said Jim Sample, homeowner. "BAM."

Those were some the sounds that rattled Jim Sample’s home in the Luminaire neighborhood of Palm Springs.

“We smelled smoke. We said what the heck is that immediately saw by our front door a light switch that controls the outdoor lights, its a timer that blew our all black and everything it was burned out," said Sample.  

Sample said within minutes half of the lights in his home came back on but he noticed. 

“Soft water tank, the electronics that are above it that board has been burnt," said Sample. "Thats fried that needs to be replaced, I have no idea what that’s going to be.” 

Sample’s household wasn’t the only one impacted. One neighbor is displaced from his home after the air conditioner blew out. 

“I stayed in a hotel the last two nights," said Ted Belch. "I couldn’t stand it. i called them to have them repair it the day this happened, I was told maybe they’ll be able to parts that were needed Monday. Yesterday, I was told I wont see them before Wednesday.” 

Over forty residents rallied up in front Sample’s home to discuss the damages.

“The biggest frustration is the lack of communication from the electric company," said Dennis Wolframski. "All we want is an explanation about what happened, what they did to fix it, why we had the power surge, have they done anything at all to prevent a future power surge.” 

So Cal Edison responding by sending out two technicians.

“So Cal Edison personnel explained to us that it is all computer controlled and when the line came down in about 15 seconds the power was re-routed then came back up again," said Sample. "The question we don’t have answered is: if a line comes down, how does that create a surge of power that coming through a neighborhood.” 

We reached out to So Cal Edison for comment.

“We are aware of this incident and we are continuing to investigate and customers who want to file a claim at SCE.com under customer support," said Paul Griffo, spokesperson for So Cal Edison.

“And this is the closest my house has been to catching on fire that was very scary," said Wolframski.