Parts of Downtown Baltimore in the dark after multiple manhole cover explosions
By Christian Olaniran, Mike Hellgren, Rohan Mattu
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — Multiple manhole cover explosions were reported Thursday night in Downtown Baltimore, and hundreds were left without power through Friday morning as crews investigate.
Fire officials say the preliminary cause of the explosions is believed to be electrical. Crews responded to the 300 block of North Charles Street to find smoke coming from multiple manhole covers and fire emitting from one manhole cover, the Baltimore Office of Emergency Management said.
The fire impacted underground electrical conduits along the street, officials said.
BGE said in a statement that the electric system was de-energized so crews could put out the fire, which cut the power to 1600 customers. The company assisted with the response and said its crews would be investigating.
The outage is affecting the downtown area in the general grid of Centre Street, Liberty Street, St. Paul Street and Fayette Street, the OEM said.
“Customers may experience additional temporary service interruptions during the restoration process so that new underground electric cables can be installed,” BGE said in a statement.
Mercy Medical Center, which is located near the incident, is largely unaffected. Several of the hospital’s garages and buildings went without power for a period, city officials said.
The incident prompted evacuations at five locations nearby. Downtown Baltimore City circuit courthouses are closed Friday as emergency work continues.
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