Westar Energy crews have an idea what led to a major power outage affecting part of Emporia and all of Thorndale on Wednesday, but so far nothing has been confirmed.
A spokesman says repair crews suspect wildlife was the cause of an outage that rendered over 1,800 customers powerless for over two hours shortly after lunchtime.
The outage lasted until just after 3 pm and shut down power for much of east Emporia — essentially anybody from Commercial Street to the east and South Avenue to the north, including most of downtown Emporia. Temporary stop signs had to be placed at most downtown stoplights for traffic control.
The outage, which was apparently centered just south of Interstate 35 between Roads N and P, also straddled I-35 east to near the Kansas Highway 130 exit.
3:15 pm Wednesday: Significant outage restored, cause unclear
Power has been restored to nearly 2,000 Westar Energy customers from the east half of Emporia to past Thorndale after a significant outage and several smaller outages Wednesday.
Over 1,800 customers essentially east of Commercial and north of South Avenue were knocked offline when an outage developed south of Interstate 35 near Road N around 1 pm. Westar’s outage map indicated the outage stretched at least two miles past Thorndale.
The outage was fully restored shortly after 3 pm. Westar has not confirmed what led to the outage.
2 pm Wednesday: Major power outage affecting most of east Emporia
Nearly 2,000 Westar Energy customers in and east of Emporia have lost power.
Westar’s online outage map shows four current outages, with the most impactful centered about a mile east of the Interstate 35 interchange with East Sixth Avenue. Over 1,800 customers, including an area from Commercial Street to the east and along and north of South Avenue in Emporia, are impacted just by that outage. Many downtown stoplights are inactive, with the city bringing in some portable signs for traffic control.
Three additional outages are currently being reported, although the number of customer outages totals less than 10 customers.
Westar Energy says power should be restored by Wednesday afternoon. Causes have not been determined.
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