Work crews from /*Southern California Edison*/ sawed through the wreckage left behind after a huge tree came crashing down onto high-powered transmission lines, setting off a chain reaction of destruction.
"When one pole was crashed down upon they all came out like toothpicks," said SoCal Edison spokesperson Donna Lee.
Lee said the eucalyptus tree came down right after midnight.
The initial outage affected more than 420 homes, but crews were able to restore power to more than half. Approximately 2,000 homes were affected overall across the Southland.
"With the fact that Christmas is right around the corner, the kids are freezing in our house since we've been without power for 18 hours, going on 20 or more," said La Verne resident Peter Hidalgo.
Hidalgo has lived on the La Verne side of Live Oak Canyon for more than 15 years.
"We just decided to pack up and head over to the in-laws' house down a couple of cities over," said Hidalgo.
SoCal Edison crews managed to cut the tree into pieces and get it out of the roadway.
