L.A. Authorities Seek Owner of Drone that Took Out Power Lines in West Hollywood

Los Angeles authorities are determining how to move forward after someone flew a drone into power lines in West Hollywood on Monday, knocking out electricity for roughly 200 customers. 

“This is a first, but it will probably start happening every day,” said Sgt. Dave Valentine of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. 

Witnesses say a drone clipped a power line while filming in #WeHo. Crews working to restore power (@theVIPERroom) pic.twitter.com/SLcwUHffI3

— Kenny Holmes (@KHOLMESlive) October 27, 2015

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Drone Flies Into Electrical Lines, Knocking Out Power in West Hollywood

For the moment, authorities have not located the drone’s owner, Valentine said. 

The sheriff’s department is “consulting” with other agencies on the incident, Valentine said. The drone owner faces possible fines, he added. 

The incident happened around 1:15 p.m. in the area of Sunset Boulevard and Larrabee Street, and resulted in 183 Southern California Edison customers losing power, said Robert Villegas, a spokesperson for the power company. 

Objects hitting lines and knocking out power — balloons, animals — is common, but Villegas said this may be the first drone.

Authorities plan to have an update on the incident by Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, Valentine said.