A three-hour blackout in West Hollywood, Calif. on Monday was reportedly the result of a drone crash. The BBC reports that a drone was flown into powerlines, knocking one of them down to the ground and leaving about 650 people without electricity.
Nobody was injured in the accident.
Eyewitness Chris Gordon tells the BBC, “All of the sudden [I saw] a flash – like a boom. And then sparks and you could see the drone dropping to the ground. It landed right over here in the middle of the intersection and cars were actually driving around the drone and it was smoking in the middle of the street.”
The Viper Room, a night club in the area, posted a photo on Instagram of the burnt drone on the ground. “The power went out for a minute so I went outside to see if the rest of the hood was out,” The Viper Room writes. “Apparently a drone was following a car for a reality show and hit the power line crossing [Sunset Blvd.] at [Larrabee St.] The line snapped in half and landed on this Mini. It buzzed for a few minutes and poof! Smoke from under the hood.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is still looking for the drone operate, received several 911 calls about the incident. The fire department closed two westbound lanes of Sunset Boulevard due to the incident.
