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Elmsford Residents Left Without Power, Outlets Fried After Lines Fall

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Part of a neighborhood in Westchester County was in the dark Friday night, after a big problem with the power lines.

As CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported, the lines fell and caused a surge that also fried fuse boxes and electronics.

Several homes remained in the dark Friday night on North Evart Avenue in Elmsford, after a frightening power surge Thursday afternoon.

"I screamed because I saw a big flash of light," said Mary Ann Hoke.

Hoke said sparks flew out of her electrical outlets and light bulbs burst into flames.

"All of a sudden the TV went off, and we had a lamp over there and it exploded," she said.

A primary Con Edison power line carrying 13,000 volts somehow broke free and hit a smaller wire -- sending a huge surge into 28 homes.

An army of Con Ed workers and electricians has been checking charred electric meter panels, burnt outlets and damaged appliances.

"I tested out all my electronics this morning," said Ramiro Carpio. "My printer… my laptop, they are fried."

Carpio's outlets are black. Virtually his entire electrical system needs to be replaced, and it's not going to be cheap.

"So far it's like $7,000 -- the service line, main panel," Carpio said. "They have to change every single outlet in my house."

Carpio said his water heater, boiler, TVs, and refrigerator are also ruined.

Con Edison said residents can submit a reimbursement claim, but the company does not pay for damage caused by problems out of its control like storms, vandalism or trees.

"We are still investigating, but believe that tree contact with a power line is what triggered the event," a company spokesman Allan Drury told CBS2 Friday night.

But Carpio said he saw the power line itself explode.

"It didn't touch any branches any trees anything at all," he said. "It just blew up."

"We didn't do anything to cause this problem. It's their pole," added Hoke. "It's their work, so they're responsible for it."

Elmsford Mayor Robert Williams agreed.

"My opinion is it wasn't an act of nature. It wasn't an accident," Williams said. "It was one of their equipment failures. It was a piece of equipment that failed. The wire just fell down."

An electric meter panel was also burned to a crisp on one house. Residents told CBS2 their insurance will cover some of the damage, but they are on their own for meters.

The Village of Elmsford has brought out a backup generator and installed a charging station on the street for things like cellphones and laptops for the neighbors, all while power is restored individually, home by home, slowly but surely.

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