Damaged underground cable caused Rancho Mirage outage; Southern California Edison says generators will likely run 3 to 5 more days

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (KESQ) A damaged underground cable in the Los Cocos community caused the power outage that left nearly 4,400 Southern California Edison customers in the dark this week, the utility told News Channel 3 on Thursday.

Edison said repairs to the cable are expected to take three to five days, though the company acknowledged the timeline could be extended. Temporary generators now powering some neighborhoods will be removed as soon as the cable is fixed, the utility said.

The outage began at 11:53 p.m. Tuesday, initially affecting 4,395 customers in the area of Frank Sinatra Drive. Crews restored power to most customers within hours, but several hundred remained without electricity through Wednesday. Edison confirmed the final customers were reconnected around 7 p.m. Wednesday through the use of generators.

Darcy Roberts, who lives near Da Vall Drive half a block from where the generators now sit recorded video of the emergency response just after midnight Tuesday. Her video shows firefighters hosing down the ground as smoke billowed near Frank Sinatra Drive, which was blocked off along with Gerald Ford Drive.

"All of a sudden the whole sky lit up," Roberts said, describing three separate flashes, each followed by a low hum. "Either we're getting bombed, or a car hit a street lamp."

Roberts said she went nearly 24 hours without electricity or internet.

"We're confused, and it'd be nice to have an explanation," she said. "What can we expect, so that we can take refuge or make plans?"

For some residents, the restoration brought a new problem.

Todd Stevens, a full-time Rancho Mirage resident in Tamarisk Gardens who works from home, said seven generators were placed about 10 feet from his house Wednesday afternoon five feet from his home office.

"Why do you think it's appropriate to put enormous generators next to where people live?" Stevens said,

He added there is golf course and a large parking lot nearby where the units could have been placed instead. "We have zero communication from Edison."

Stevens said he and his wife left to stay with friends because the constant noise made it impossible to sleep or work.

Edison told News Channel 3 it is still looking into where the generators are placed.

News Channel 3 will continue to follow this story and push Edison for updates on the repair timeline.