Underground Blast Impacts Vehicle in Irvine

A blast ripped through an underground electrical vault beneath a vehicle stopped at an Irvine intersection today, jarring but not injuring the driver and knocking out power to nearly 3,000 utility customers, authorities said.

The explosion happened about 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of Culver and Michelson drives, causing the vehicle's air bags to deploy, Irvine police Lt. Dave Klug said.

The stunned driver of the vehicle did not require hospital treatment, he said.

Paul Netter, an SCE spokesman, said 2,915 customers had their power knocked out. That number was down to 445 by 7 p.m., he said.

Crews were working to restore full service, Netter said, but he had no estimate of when that would take place.

The off-ramps to Culver Boulevard from the nearby San Diego (405) Freeway briefly were closed following the blast, as was the intersection at Culver and Michelson, Klug said.