CONNEAUT — A primary power line that fell across a tractor-trailer truck on Interstate 90 early Thursday afternoon spawned a power outage that hit a big chunk of Conneaut, including City Hall, officials said.
The truck driver was not hurt, but came within moments of touching the hot wire after stopping his rig, firefighters said.
Illuminating Co. repair crews briefly shut down traffic on I-90 to string new cable, according to reports.
The incident began around 1:30 p.m., when the line inexplicably fell near the Dorman Road overpass, landing atop a car-carrier heading west on I-90, said Police Chief Jon Arcaro. The truck dragged the cable off the highway and away from traffic, firefighters said.
Power was restored shortly after 5:30 p.m.
The driver, who was not immediately identified, stopped the rig and was preparing to pull the line further off the road when he realized the wire was electrified, firefighters said.
The Illuminating Co. was trying to determine what caused the line to fall, said Mark Jones, area manager. “We’re in the process of doing restoration,” he said.
Outages hit the downtown district and portions of the city’s East
Side, said interim City Manager Edward Somppi. Traffic signals were not working Thursday afternoon, requiring Public Works Department crews to install stop signs at the busiest intersections, he said.
The I-90 repair process apparently caused outages in neighborhoods not initially affected, said Police Chief Jon Arcaro.
Some offices at City Hall were without power, even though the building’s backup generator was functioning, Somppi said.The generator helps keep the police/fire/medical dispatch center functioning inside the police station.
The outage is the second to hit major portions of town in less than a week. Late Saturday night, a roving raccoon that wandered into a substation caused a blackout that affected a large chunk of Conneaut, as well as portions of Kingsville and North Kingsville. That outage lasted more than two hours.
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