Transformer Explodes At Oakridge Mall

July 23 - KGO (KGO) -- An emergency caused by the Bay Area's heat wave has forced the evacuation of a San Jose mall Sunday evening. Officials made everyone leave Oakridge Mall on Blossom Hill Road when a transformer fire knocked out power.

It was quite a frightening scene at Oakridge Mall. A transformer blew up in the parking lot and the mall is now closed.

It happened around 4:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The transformer that blew up was in front of the movie theater and food court entrance. Shoppers said they heard a loud explosion, followed by smoke. They then saw a lot of sparks.

It was quite a scary situation as shoppers took off running. It happened during a busy day. Many people came to spend a few hours in the air-conditioned stores, but because of the panic that ensued, and because part of the mall has no power, the shopping center decided to close for the day.

Fred Avena, shopper: "We saw some flickering and the power went out. And we started to walk away from what was the open area where the theaters are at. And about three minutes later you see a mad rush of people coming at you, and somebody said, 'There's a fire!' So we saw the flickering, the escalators went out. It looked like there was a little mass hysteria, going crazy."

This was just one of many problems in San Jose on Sunday. In all, there are 880 separate power outages throughout the city. The heat is really taking a toll.

There are still thousands of heat-related power outages across the Bay Area Sunday night. A total of 58,000 customers are without electricity.

Most of those -- about 38,000 -- are in the South Bay. In the East Bay, 17,000 homes and businesses are blacked out.

Get more News »

• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•