Wednesday night was a busy one for the Mon Power line workers, dispatchers and support staff throughout our service area with the powerful thunderstorms – heavy downpours and plenty of lightning - causing power outages to more than 14,000 customers - including about 3,500 in the Bridgeport area. 

 

Todd Meyers, spokesperson for Mon Power, said most of the Bridgeport outages trace back to two incidents, one quite unusual, he said.

 

“The first was a utility pole near Hall Street and Johnson Avenue that appeared to suffer a direct hit by a lightning bolt,” he said. “The pole was split top to bottom right down the middle, a rarity in this business.”

 

Meyers said the pole would have toppled, causing more damage, but Mon Power crews were able to secure it temporarily and prop it in place with a large bucket truck. 

 

“To do this work safely, we had to temporarily de-energize a different line, which caused a short outage for another set of customers at around midnight,” Meyers said. “Crews are working now to replace that splintered pole.”

 

The falling of the tree created a domino effect, taking down power lines and utility poles along upper Johnson Avenue.

 

The second incident, Meyers said, was a very large off-right-of-way tree that toppled onto a line near Bridgeport High School, snapping cross arms off the top of the pole. Those repairs should also be completed soon, he said.

 

To sum it up, Meyers said it was a wild night and that the summer thunderstorm season certainly arrived with a bang. He reminds individuals to always stay away from downed wires.

 

“Play it safe,” he said. “Always assume they are energized lines and keep kids and pets far away.”

Always call 911 or Mon Power at 1-888-LIGHTSS about down lines and wires. Report all power outages, too.

 

As of mid-morning, there were still about 450 Bridgeport customers without power, but they were expected to be restored by noon.

 

A portion of Johnson Avenue remains closed to traffic, from near Johnson Elementary to Willow Lane. Therefore, traffic cannot exit Hall Street onto Johnson Avenue.

 

Power was off Wednesday night for thousands of city customers. Many were restored within an hour and a half of the incident, which occurred at 9:54 p.m. Read the original post HERE. Stay tuned for updates.