Exploding Transformer Starts Fire Near San Vicente Rd. Fire Station

A transformer that exploded behind a fire station early Saturday left about 900 SDG&E customers without power in Ramona.

The incident occurred about 7:45 a.m. at Cal Fire Station 80 at 829 San Vicente Road south of H Street, Cal Fire firefighter-paramedic Brandon Morgan said.

``We were just sitting in the station and we heard an explosion outside and we went out and a power pole was on fire about 200 yards away,'' Morgan said.

Prompt action by firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze before it spread.

Initially, customers in the Barona, El Capitan, South Ramona and Iron Mountain areas were without power, SDG&E reported.

Power had been restored to all but 272 of those customers by 10:30 a.m. The remaining customers were expected to have their power restored by 11:30 a.m., SDG&E said.

The cause of the power outage was under investigation.

A road closure was reported on 11th Street between H Street and San Vicente Road around 8 a.m. Homes in the area were notified of the fire, according to CHP.

A witness wrote on Facebook that the fire was bright white, another posted that she heard an explosive sound.

City News Service contributed to this report.