Having happily attained grandfatherly years, Larry Loughlin’s serenity, in the shadow of The Culver Studios, was severely jolted on Christmas Eve, just as he and his family were sailing into a celebratory mood.
A week and a half later, with the emotional case dangling, he is hoping that Southern California Edison will look kindly upon his claim for close to $2,000 in damages.
A bizarre, actually momentary, event brought the Fire Dept., the Police Dept., and Edison workers into the quiet, compact Downtown-adjacent neighborhood where the Loughlins have raised their children and grandchildren the past 25 years.
[img]55|left|Photo by Cary Anderson||no_popup[/img]
A Show with Damages
For unaffected observers, it was a spectacular show — rescue/emergency trucks clotting the streets and important, uniformed personnel fanning out across the residential properties.
Between the uninvited excitement and the collateral damage to his property, Mr. Loughlin still is trying to sort out how much there was of each.
“I used to work as a policeman,” he said. “I am used to knowing my adrenalin is pumping.
“My adrenalin was really pumping that afternoon. Being a person of my age, it was not the best thing to go through.”
Unsuspectingly, Larry and Mirna
Loughlin were leaving their cozy longtime home on Lucerne Avenue early on Christmas Eve afternoon when fate fell into their lives, almost into their laps.
[img]56|left|Photo by Cary Anderson||no_popup[/img]
Exactly What Happened
Here is the story the former insurance investigator is telling Southern California Edison:
“At 2:30 p.m., my wife and I were about to get into our vehicle, parked on the street in front of our house, when we heard an explosion above us.
“We didn’t know what was happening.
“Kind of instinctively, we ran out into the street.
Close Call
“Just after that, a (power) line came down where my wife had been standing, on the passenger side of our vehicle. It almost hit the vehicle. It might have hit the vehicle, but maybe it was deflected by a tree branch.
“We heard a second explosion nearby, at the corner of Ince and Lucerne. Another power line had dropped, and, as a result, a tree caught fire.
“I, and probably other neighbors, notified the Police Dept. But before they arrived, neighbors on the southwest corner brought out their garden hose. They were able to extinguish the fire in the tree.
“This caused damage to certain appliances in my house. My phone set went out, and my TV didn’t work.
Living in the Dark
“We didn’t have any power at all for about 11 hours. I went to bed, but I heard the power was restored about 1:30 on Christmas morning.
“Luckily, I have a telephone out back in my office. I have a surge breaker there, and that must have protected my office.
“I had to replace both of my telephones and the television set. My breaker box is not working as it should. I’m not sure what that problem is,” Mr. Loughlin said in closing.
What About Reimbursement?
A four-truck Edison crew, grumbling about working so close to Christmas, according to Mr. Loughlin, arrived in the Lucerne neighborhood later on Christmas Eve afternoon.
“They weren’t happy at all about being there,” he said. “But they cut the wires so they weren’t hot anymore.”
Mr. Loughlin, a Chicago native who turns 72 years old this month, is hoping to win reimbursement from Edison for having the family’s Christmas celebration ruptured.
But he is not necessarily confident.
