Some residents in Tecumseh are without power this evening after a massive transformer fell due to a pole fire.
Tecumseh Rd. between Banwell and Southfield Dr. remains closed to traffic in both directions and isn't expected to reopen until about 3am Friday.
Essex Powerlines says more than 4,000 customers have been without power since 4pm.
General Manager Joe Barile says it's unclear how the pole caught fire. "It could range anywhere from high voltage going through the wire... animal contact sometimes causes pole fires," Barile says.
Barile says they isolated the outage, but another power issue in the area caused further problems. "We got it down to six people who were out after we did some switching. Unfortunately after we completed our switching, at a completely different location on Riverside Drive, a high voltage wire came down," says Barile, which resulted in the larger outage of 4,145 customers.
OPP says no injuries were reported.
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
A pole fire causes a transformer to fall on Tecumseh Rd. at Southfield Dr. in Tecumseh, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Jason Viau)
