Update: Trabuco/El Toro Is Open

Update: Southern California Edison completed work on the power poles Friday, 3 p.m. Although the City said it would reopen the intersection about 7 p.m., it wasn't cleared until about 7:30 p.m.

Motorists who travel busy El Toro Road won't have to detour around the intersection with Trabuco Road on Friday night. That's because the intersection, which was closed all day Thursday because of a downed power pole, will reopen Friday by 8 p.m.

Southern California Edison worked through the night and cleared out of the intersection by 3 p.m., but other utilities, such as AT&T and Cox Communications, had to conduct their business on the new poles.

Frank Wasko, region manager of public affairs for SCE, said he was told by the Lake Forest director of public works, Tom Wheeler, the intersection will reopen at 7 p.m. A worker on the ground said at 7 that he was hopeful everything would be cleared by 8, and it was.

Wasko said an investigation is under way as it attempts to determine what caused the tall wooden pole to snap at the northeast corner of El Toro and Trabuco roads. 

"They're looking at several different possibilities and will do a complete fact-finding analysis to see exactly what happened out there," Wasko said. "We don't have anything definitive that caused the corner pole to go.

"We want to make sure the investigation is thorough and it's done responsibly."

Wasko said no customers lost electricity when the pole apparently snapped between 11 p.m and midnight on Wednesday.

The pole snapped about 20 feet above ground. SCE annually checks its overhead equpment and it's replaced as needed, Wasko said. He added there are some poles 50-60 years old that still meet mandated safety standards.

Two "subtransmission poles"—those are the tall wooden poles bearing the load of the wires—and one support pole were replaced. The incident also took out a light standard.

In an earlier report, Edison spokeswoman Nancy Rodriguez Casanova said an 11:33 p.m. car crash caused a guy-wire to snap, but Wasko said he couldn't confirm that happened.

Original story

The intersection at El Toro and Trabuco is expected to reopen by late Friday afternoon after a broken power pole fell into a traffic light Wednesday night, snarling traffic but not affecting power. No injuries were reported.

Until the lines are repaired, no traffic is allowed on El Toro Road from Serrano Road to Montcliff Drive, according to Orange County Sherriff's Lt. Steve Gil. Trabuco Road will stay closed from Cherry Avenue at the north to Rimhurst Drive at the south, he said.

• Update: Drivers traveling east on El Toro can now turn right at Trabuco.

Around 11 Wednesday night, Lake Forest deputies received calls from residents about power lines arcing and falling, and a transmission stub pole on the brink of falling, Gil said.

Deputies and SCE disagreed on what caused the downed pole.

"It was not a traffic accident. But a pole kind of spontaneously combusted and fell to the ground on its own," Gil said. "Apparently a transformer blew and one of the poles did in fact fall."

According to Edison spokeswoman Nancy Rodriguez Casanova, an 11:33 p.m. car crash caused a guy-wire to snap. That information came from an SCE analyst, she said.

Police records show no indication of a car crash.

SCE crews have been at the scene reparing the damage since 5 a.m., Gil said.

Two transmission crews are working at the scene as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Rodriguez Casanova said. They are repairing a transmission pole, cross-arms and conductors, she said.

Alternative Routes

Commuters are encouraged to take Lake Forest Drive and Los Alisos east from I-5. 

For those traveling north and south, Santa Margarita, Portola and Jeronimo are your best bets, Gil said.