Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Downed power lines forced a portion of Reservoir Road in Frankstown Township to be closed to traffic.
A broken power line insulator left an initial 2,525 customers in Hollidaysburg without power on Monday afternoon, said First Energy spokesman Todd Meyers.
The insulator at the intersection of Locke Mountain Road and River Road broke about 12:50 p.m., causing the power line to come into contact with the wooden utility pole and creating a fireball.
“The only damage that was caused was where it met the road,” Meyers said about the fireball.
According to Geeseytown Fire Chief Dennis Estep, who was on scene in minutes, there was also a small brush fire, but as it was located between the road and the river, the department wasn’t worried about it spreading.
All but 25 customers had their power restored by 1:15 p.m., according to Meyers.
“There’s some wire down,” Meyers said. “It’s not a widespread outage at this point.”
Those 25 customers, who could be without power for up to eight hours while Penelec works to fix the line, are generally located between Locke Mountain Road and River Road, Estep said.
One of those customers, who uses oxygen, was in contact with Estep and EMS about the medical situation. While the customer stated there was enough reserve oxygen tanks to last until the power was restored, Estep told the person to immediately call 911 if there were any problems.
Although wires were down on the roadway, stopping traffic, Penelec would allow emergency services through the area, Estep said.
No vehicles were affected by the downed lines as nearby homeowners were able to alert drivers to the situation and have them turn around, he added.
The downed lines were a concern because “46,000 volts were running through that line because it’s a power station to power station connection, not a residential line,” Estep said.
The Geeseytown Fire Department was joined on scene by Phoenix Volunteer Fire Department and an additional tanker from Williamsburg Fire Department.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ...
MARTINSBURG — The Altoona-Blair County Airport Authority voted unanimously to recommend an alternate essential ...
JOHNSTOWN — A former Clearfield resident will spend 35 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime term of ...
The Altoona Water Authority and its contractor for renovation of the Bellwood dam have finally managed to drain the ...
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
Copyright © Altoona Mirror | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-946-7411