Madison fires knock out power
Thousands lost power on hottest day of year
Downtown Madison is blanketed by thick plumes of black smoke Friday from fires at two electric utility substations. The fires caused about 12,000 customers to lose power, though most had it restored by the end of the day.
MADISON - Black smoke filled the sky over Madison’s isthmus and knocked out power across downtown after an explosion and fires broke out at two Madison Gas and Electric power stations Friday morning.
By the afternoon, Gov. Tony Evers had declared a state of emergency both in Madison and Dane County and authorized the National Guard to assist as needed.
As of about 5:20 p.m., MG&E said all but 34 customers had power restored, down from about 12,000 earlier in the day, on what was likely to be the hottest day of the year.
MG&E president and CEO Jeff Keebler said a mechanical issue likely caused the first and larger fire in a substation across the street from a generating plant just off East Washington Avenue — a main thoroughfare on Madison’s isthmus.
“We don’t know whether the fire caused the explosion or the explosion caused the fire,” Keebler said at a news conference.
The cause of the second fire at a substation not owned by MG&E near the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus is unknown.
Keebler said the company was assessing damage.working to determine an exact cause.
Keebler said MG&E officials had no reason to believe the causes of the fires were due to customers using air conditioners more than on cooler days.
With temperatures in the 90s and a heat index above 100 (what the temperature feels like with humidity factored in), cooling centers were open across the city, including at the UW-Madison’s Kohl Center.
The power outages prompted Evers to close state offices and the Capitol. The city and Dane County closed many of their offices.
State government websites, including for the court filing system and the Department of Motor Vehicles, were down.
The largest fire and explosion occurred at the substation at 702 E. Main St., near East Washington Avenue. The substation is co-owned by MG&E and American Transmission Co., Keebler said.
The second fire was at a substation owned by ATC near UW-Madison’s Ogg Hall. It was put out quickly.
UW-Madison spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said the fire did not affect campus buildings and power remained on throughout Friday.