Last week on Monday, March 19, the residents in southern Downey near the Bellflower city border experienced a power outage at around 7:00 p.m. after a Ford Mustang crashed into a power line, dislodging it from its base and creating a potential safety hazard for drivers and pedestrians alike. The crash lead to various homes in the area to lose power for over 12 hours as technicians were forced to shut down the power in the area in order to make repairs.

Downey resident and senior student David Sanchez, 12, was able to hear the crash and see the aftermath from his home.

“I literally guessed it was a Mustang because of their bad stereotypes in the car community and the next thing you know, I see a black mustang on slicks with an electric line pole leaning on it,” Sanchez said. “I was surprised my power wasn’t immediately cut but when it was it was such a pain since I couldn’t do homework, used all my data, and my phone died.”

With the power shut down so that the electric pole could be fixed, residents in the area were forced to wait in the dark until the repairs were finished and the power could be turned back on. Unfortunately, repairs lasted an extensive amount of time and continued till the next day. Some students in the area had to go about their day without access to the internet for school assignments, entertainment, or even social media uses as some students found out the hard way.

Sophomore and Downey resident Javier Diaz, 10, was unable to do his work because of the lack of power.

“I couldn’t use my WIFI to do the research or even log on to the website for my homework,” Diaz said. “I have never really been in a situation like this, it showed me that I was screwed without the internet or power.”

The power outage made some students aware of their reliance and dependence on power for most activities in their life, both social and academic. Without power in their homes students were hindered or unable to complete or work on any assignments that would require any form of research, online help, or group work on an online platform. Their ability to use any forms of social media or technology was also limited or fully disabled unless they had other power sources or used their phones

Freshman and DHS student Arian Lopez, 9, lives in one of the homes that had their power shutdown, rendering him unable to do his homework.

“The power outage did stop me from doing my work, because I needed to use the internet in order to finish it,” Lopez said. “Since the power was out and the internet was down, I couldn’t use it which started to make piss me off, so I left it for later. It kind of made me realise that I use the WIFI for lots of stuff.”

While the power was restored the next day and the damages were repaired, residents are advised to take precautionary measures and to prepare some supplies should another power out occur. Flashlights are recommended as a safer light source over candles, in order to prevent any potential fire hazards. Residents are also advised to stay indoors during a power outage and should you encounter a downed power line, stay away from it and do not touch it, but rather call the electrical or utility company to take safely care of it.