Mobile home park in Desert Hot Springs loses power after transformer fire

Dozens of Desert Hot Springs residents were out of their homes Monday night after an electrical fire knocked out power at a mobile home park.

Sparks were seen flying at Mountain View Mobile Home Park after 4 p.m. Monday as a fire erupted in breaker panels behind the clubhouse and pool. According to CALFIRE, the panels were aging and likely the cause of the fire.

"I come out here and there's sparks going everywhere," said Jennifer Lantz. "This place could have gone up and that would have been it."

The fire cut power to 110 mobile home spaces in the park, leaving hundreds of people without electricity and stuck in the desert summer heat.

"The power outage is hot!" Lantz said. "In my RV, it gets up to 150 degrees without the electric."

A cooling center has been set up at a facility near the intersection of Estrella Drive and Cactus Drive – though because of the pandemic, there are fewer beds than normal and the center was approaching capacity.

There is no word from SCE when power could be restored.

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