Power poles inexplicably catch fire, cause outage for 700 people
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - More than 700 people were without power on Saturday night after two power poles inexplicably caught fire.
Idaho Power has not determined what caused the power poles to catch fire, according to spokesman Sven Berg. He said it's rare that power poles catch fire without a known cause.
There was rain and lightning activity in Pocatello on Saturday evening, but Idaho Power isn't sure if lightning caused the poles to catch fire. The National Weather Service documented a 'cloud to ground' lightning strike in the Pocatello area at 9:00 p.m. near North Eighth and Pocatello avenues, a few blocks from the power poles.
One power pole is located on East Hayden Street between North Fourth and North Fifth avenues. The other is near the intersection of Yellowstone Avenue and East Elm Street.
Traffic was restricted at both areas as the Pocatello Fire Department put out the fires. Some traffic lights went out, causing police to run traffic control, the Idaho State Journal reported. Nobody was injured from the incident.
Idaho Power intentionally shut down power in the area at 9:17 p.m. to make sure crews were safe as they worked on the poles. Power came back on at 9:46 p.m., according to Berg.
The outage affected 738 customers, both residential and businesses.
One pole will have to be replaced because of damages, and Idaho Power will let customers in the area know ahead of time if power has to be turned off while crews work.
