Thousands Left Without Power Wwp Transformer Explodes, Blacking Out Much Of North Side

Thousands of sweltering North Side residents were without power for several hours Sunday, the hottest day of the year.

A Washington Water Power Co. transformer exploded, spewing flames onto a grassy field.

The 5:20 p.m. blowout at the Waikiki Road substation blacked out up to 4,000 homes, including part of the Indian Trail, Fairwood, Nine Mile and Whitworth neighborhoods.

Cause of the outage was not known immediately.

“There were flames going up 50 feet into the air. It was like a volcano,” said Mary Ann Sauer, a Five Mile Road resident who heard the bang and saw the fire from her back deck.

Though half the customers had power again within an hour, some 2,000 customers were expected to be without power until 1 a.m., according to WWP.

Traffic lights were out in parts of north Spokane, and police were dispatched to intersections for traffic control.

Some Division Street businesses also lost power.

“It’s scattered,” said Debbie Simock, a WWP spokeswoman. “It could be one (home) has power and a neighbor doesn’t. They are fed off different lines.”

The outage hit as temperatures peaked at 95 degrees.

When WWP tried to restore power at 8 p.m., the system overloaded. So the utility had to cut service and start over.

The transformer that went up in flames had been repaired recently by utility crews. It was one of a dozen transformers located in a fenced area off a gravel road near the Spokane Country Club.

The substation serves the northern part of Spokane County from Francis Avenue to Deer Park and from U.S. Highway 2 (Newport Highway) to state Highway 291 (Nine Mile Road).

Skip Wells, deputy chief of Fire District 9, said the exploding transformer hurled red-hot parts into the tall grass surrounding the substation, causing three small fires that were doused within 20 minutes.

Wells said some of the grass was 5 feet high. There also were fallen trees, timber and dying vegetation. , DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: POWER TIPS When the power goes out on hot days, WWP offers this advice: Turn off major appliances, such as the television set and computer. Close windows and blinds to keep out the heat. Open the refrigerator as seldom as possible to conserve cold air. Buy some dry ice to place in the freezer to keep food cold.