File photo of Long Beach Power Outage. 

Downtown Long Beach residents affected by last week’s power outage will have the opportunity to receive help from city and Southern California Edison officials in filing claims at one of multiple meetings scheduled for the coming days by Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez’s office.

During the course of the power outage—which began the afternoon of Wednesday, July 15, when a cable failure caused an underground electrical fire—nearly 11,000 customers were without electricity.

Community members saw help from various city departments, the Red Cross, Community Emergency Response Team and various other community groups who donated time and food.

The blackout was considered one of the worst power outages in the city in recent history by city officials. Edison authorities also said the power outage was the most significant since the 1950s.

Multiple businesses had to close their doors during the power outage, which ended Sunday, July 26.

According to the Downtown Long Beach Associates, the loss in estimated gross sales for downtown Long Beach stores during the nearly four-day blackout was $2,671,622. This number excludes wage loss, product loss and hotel revenue, and is based on the amount in sales tax the city received during the same period in 2014.

Businesses were able to meet with city and SoCal Edison officials on Wednesday, July 22, at the Small Business Development Center to receive help in filing their claims.

Edison officials announced Tuesday during a City Council meeting that residents who experienced more than 24 hours without power would receive a $100 credit furing their next billing cycle.

Meetings will be held at the following locations and times:

July 24, 2015
1:00PM to 4:00PM at the Small Business Development Center, 309 Pine Avenue, for business and residential claims.
5:00PM to 7:00PM at the Downtown Long Beach Business Associates Promenade, between Broadway and Third Street, for business and residential claims.

July 27, 2015
6:00PM at Cesar Chavez Park, 401 Golden Avenue, for business and residential claims. Meeting in English and Spanish.

July 28, 2015
1:00PM to 7:00PM at the Small Business Development Center, 309 Pine Avenue, for business and residential claims.

July 29, 2015
10:00AM at Park Pacific Towers, 714 Pacific Avenue, for seniors living at Park Pacific Towers.

July 31, 2015
10:00AM at Plymouth West, 240 Chestnut Avenue, for seniors living at Plymouth West.

For any additional questions please contact Gonzalez’s office at 562.570.6919.