Two Malibu power outages Monday; manhole flashover on Shearwater Play

The heat wave is NOT being blamed for the two power outages that hit Malibu on Monday. But the exact causes have not been determined by Southern California Edison — at least, not for public consumption.

About 2,275 customer accounts in western Malibu were affected. The first outage was at 2:48 Monday afternoon.

When SCE crews restored power at about 4:47 p.m., a flashover caused smoke inside a manhole on Shearwater Lane. That's the Zuma Bay Village complex, just above Westward Beach.

Fire trucks were on scene for 1 hour and 18 minutes while that emergency was addressed. SCE crews bypassed the troublesome circuit while the underground wiring is being replaced.

A company spokesman warned today that power in the area may have to be cut at some point, while the temporary bypass is removed.