Power was out for a shopping center Monday near Murrieta Hot Springs Road and Sky Canyon Drive after a runaway tractor trailer hit an electrical box, causing a small fire.
The crash happened at about 7:41 a.m. in the unincorporated area of Murrieta just south of Winchester Road, according to CHP Officer Richard Thurston.
As a result, at least 60 customers in a nearby shopping center were without power. Businesses include a Vons grocery store and Wells Fargo. Most businesses were closed.
"A Suburban towing the tractor was traveling southbound on Sky Canyon Drive about 45 mph when the trailer starting whipping out of control and detached from the Suburban," Thurston said. "The trailer went off the west edge of the road and struck an electrical box, causing the box to catch on fire—just a small electrical fire. The fire department arrived and made sure the fire was out and SCE came on scene and disconnected the power for this whole shopping center."
Southern California Edison was working to make the necessary repairs, and power was expected to be restored by 3 p.m., according to SCE Spokesperson Caroline Aoyagi.
A sign posted on Vons said: "Store is temporarily closed due to power outage. Sorry for the inconvenience. Pharmacy is open for medication only."
Crews were still attempting to tow the tractor from the crash site.
—Daniel Lane contributed to this report.
