LAKE ELSINORE - Some residents in storm-damaged Lake Elsinore "sheltered in place" in their homes overnight due to downed power lines and power poles in their neighborhood, authorities said today.

"Edison has de-energized all affected lines in that area, however, it is our standard advice to customers never to approach a downed power line or attempt to move it," Gil Alexander of Southern California Edison told City News Service this morning.

The same thunderstorm system that unleashed multiple lightning strikes and ignited a rash of wildfires in rural Sage and Menifee wreaked havoc in Lake Elsinore just before 3 p.m. Wednesday.

"The damage to the grid started at 2:54 p.m. with high winds and lightning strikes," Alexander said. "About 20 power poles were either Advertisement

[ Berry-Bell and Hall Mortuary ] damaged or knocked to the ground. We don't usually get that type of damage in one incident."

The storm damage initially affected 1,038 Edison customers in the Lake Elsinore area, Alexander said. Rerouting of power restored electricity to all but about 100 customers by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Alexander said.

Those 100 homes nearest the damage remained without power as of 9 a.m., Alexander said. Multiple Edison crews were at work in the neighborhood today and they hoped to have repairs complete and power restored by Friday afternoon, Alexander said.

City, police and fire officials planned to meet at a command post in Lake Elsinore this morning to discuss the outage and public safety situation along Pottery Street, said Riverside County Fire spokeswoman Cheri Patterson.