Los Angeles’ water and power company was forced to shut off power to more than 1,000 homes on Tuesday after a man climbed a pole in Sylmar.
Firefighters responded to a neighborhood in the 12200 block of W. Van Nuys Boulevard around 5 p.m. to help the man, but he refused to climb down.
Los Angeles police said he was not suicidal. Instead, they believed he was high or drunk. While still dangerously close to the power lines, the man pulled out what appeared to be a pipe and smoked.
The incident forced LADWP to initially shut off power to 1,200 surrounding homes. However, the utility rerouted power through other lines, reducing the number of affected residents to about 15.
After about two hours, the rescuers gave up trying to help the man because he kept refusing to come down. He eventually climbed down the pole and left the area.
The officers did not arrest him.
Once he was finally removed from the utility pole, LADWP restored power to the remaining homes.
