Metallic balloon causes power outage, fire in Lompoc

UPDATE (4:44 p.m.) – Lompoc City officials say power was restored to all impacted customers by 4:10 p.m.
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ORIGINAL STORY: Approximately 3,200 customers were without power in the southeast area of Lompoc on Monday afternoon.

City officials say the power outage was caused by a metallic balloon that got caught in an electrical line.

They say it also caused a nearby fence and tree to catch fire. Lompoc City firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the flames.

The outage occurred in the area of 6th and 7th streets between College and Maple shortly after 2 p.m.

City officials say power is expected to be restored in a few hours.