HAWTHORNE - An underground electrical facility burned out next to Hawthorne Municipal Airport Saturday, blasting several cast iron manhole lids into the air and closing some streets.

"We were dispatched there at 8:28 a.m. There was an underground explosion and some manholes were smoking. We handled it and closed it out," said a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatcher.

Hawthorne police said the incident was affecting traffic on about a half mile of Jack Northrop Avenue on the airport's south side, between Prairie Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard.

A preliminary report from Southern California Edison indicated that just three customers were affected, but said no repair completion estimate was available yet.

A waitress at Nat's Airport Cafe said the building's lights flickered off for a second. But it appeared that the small general aviation airport remained open.