Strong thunderstorms cut power, set Kingston transformer ablaze
Lightning strikes amid powerful thunderstorms on Tuesday were to blame for about 15,000 power outages in Central Hudson’s service area, the utility said.
Just after 1 p.m., a transformer at a Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. substation on Frog Alley in Uptown Kingston was hit by lightning, said Kingston Deputy Fire Chief Donald Allen. The resulting fire destroyed the equipment, knocking out power to more than 4,000 of the utility’s customers in Kingston.
The Kingston Fire Department, though having a firehouse across the street from the substation, was delayed in its response to the Frog Alley blaze because a lightning strike was reported at the Super 8 hotel on Washington Avenue at the same time, Allen said. Because the hotel was occupied, that call took priority, he said.
There was no fire at the Super 8, Allen said.
Also complicating matters, he said, was that police and firefighters had trouble communicating among themselves because the Ulster County 911 center on Golden Hill Drive was struck by lightning, too, and temporarily lost power.
Steve Peterson, the county’s emergency management director, could not be reached for comment.
Allen said firefighters had to wait a short time for Central Hudson to cut power to the Frog Alley substation before extinguishing the blaze. He said the utility responded quickly and with “an army” of workers, and that firefighters were able to put out the blaze easily once the electricity was cut.
The Frog Alley firefighting effort was complete within about 90 minutes, Allen said.
Central Hudson said it was able to reroute power that normally passes through the site.
In a statement issued at about 3 p.m. Tuesday, Central Hudson said, “a fastmoving, powerful line of thunderstorms moved through the region this afternoon, bringing strong winds and sustained lightning, and initially interrupting electric service to approximately 15,000 customers . ... More than 1,000 lightning strikes were reported as a result of the storms.”
The utility said the lion’s share of the damage occurred in Ulster County. As of 5:30 p.m., some 1,430 customers in the county remained without service. The Kingston outage number was down to just over 900.