Fire Causes Power Outage To Thousands Of SMUD Customers In Sacramento County
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - More than 18,000 SMUD customers were without power on Saturday morning because of a fire in Sacramento County.
SMUD says the fire burned several trailers in the area of the Hedge SMUD substation, which is at 9250 Elder Creek Road. The company took the substation offline as a precaution, it said in a statement.
The fire was reported to firefighters at around 7:30 a.m. What started as a grass fire quickly took a dangerous turn. "We had a report this morning from a gentleman who lives on site. When he came out another big explosion happened and then the fire was off to the races," said Sacramento Metro Fire Battlion Chief Charles Jenkins.
The flames spread to boats, trucks and trailers that were filled with carnival equipment. It was also dangerously close to the substation.
The potential for someone getting hurt or killed was very, very high," said Jenkins. "The fire up underneath the high tension lines caused a threat to the firefighters and the firefighters had to be pulled out of that area."
Seven engines, four water tenders and one bulldozer worked quickly to protect power lines and contain the fire, according to a Sacramento Metro Fire statement.
To make matters worse, the fire was in an area without a water source nearby.
SMUD reported that service was restored to the Hedge substation at 9:17 a.m. Customers were without power upwards of an hour and a half.
The state fire marshal will be investigating the cause of the fire.
