Fire knocks out electricity in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An explosion and fire at an electric substation threw much of northern Puerto Rico into darkness late Sunday in a setback for the U.S. territory’s efforts to fully restore power more than five months after Hurricane Maria started the longest blackout in U.S. history.

The island’s Electric Power Authority said several municipalities were without power, including parts of the capital, San Juan, but they were optimistic it could be restored within a day as they worked to repair a substation that controls voltage.

It was not immediately known what caused Sunday’s fire, which was quickly extinguished. Officials said the explosion knocked two other substations offline and caused a total loss of 400 megawatts worth of generation.

“We are trying to restore that as quickly as possible,” the company said.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Cruz tweeted that no injuries had been reported and that power had been restored in some areas of the city.

The blackout comes as more than 400,000 power customers remain in the dark more than five months after Hurricane Maria.