Manhole Explodes In Brooklyn As Storms, Heat Hit Tri-State Area
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Scattered outages remained Tuesday after thousands of customers in and around New York City spent the night without power as the electric network struggled with this week's heat.
Con Edison crews worked overnight to make repairs to the system, including fixing power lines that became so overheated, they caught on fire.
Weather may have also been to blame for a manhole explosion in Brooklyn on Tuesday night. The blast occurred shortly before 7 p.m. at Lefferts and Kingston Avenues in Crown Heights.
Flames were peaking out of the hole and there was a steady stream of smoke, CBS2 reported. About 100 Con Ed customers lost service, but most were back on the grid later on Tuesday.
Both Con Ed and PSEG Long Island grappled with the outages that affected more than 20,000 homes and businesses. They especially affected areas of Staten Island and Nassau County.
Con Ed spokesperson Michael Clendenin said the first wave of brutal heat each season is a test for their system.
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"It's very common with the first heat wave that we have equipment failure show up. That's unfortunate, but that's the nature of mechanical equipment sometimes. With the first heat waves, you usually start to see anything that may be vulnerable or soft spots in the system," he told CBS2's Janelle Burrell. "The priority is to get people back as quickly as they can and then make permanent repairs."
Scattered Power Outages Linger In NYC Area Amid Hot And Humid Weather
For many of those without power, the sticky and sweltering heat Monday night took its toll.
"What do we do? I'm 87 years old, I have to sit and sweat in here and drop dead?" Sarah, of Staten Island, said. "It's horrible, it's awful. Look, I'm sweating like a pig. I just took a shower, I have to take another one. This is awful, this is disgusting."
"It's really frustrating that the infrastructure of the country is so poor and poorly maintained that this happens quite often," said Staten Island resident Joe Zaza. "It's summer time, it shouldn't happen."
One South Beach woman said she had a long, hot night.
"I was sweating. It was hot and steamy, but what you gonna do?" she told WCBS 880's Sean Adams.
"It was horrible. I couldn't sleep it was so hot," said Tommy Mai.
Scattered Power Outages Linger In NYC Area Amid Hot And Humid Weather
Con Ed also reduced voltage in Queens and Brooklyn to protect equipment while making repairs.
Even though temperatures were a bit cooler Tuesday, the Office of Emergency Management spoke out, CBS2's Elise Finch reported.
"We have secured all the components that failed and in the next few days we'll be analyzing them to determine what exactly was the cause of all the failures and we'll develop an action plan from that. So it was cable-related," said an OEM official.
The power strain meant outages at some traffic lights as well. NYPD traffic officers had to direct vehicles at several intersections.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is urging people to keep their homes at around 78 degrees to avoid overloading the system.
"Seventy-eight degrees is a setting at which people will feel safe and they will feel cool, certainly compared to the temperatures outside," he said Monday.
If you don't have access to air conditioning, cooling centers are open across the five boroughs. To find a cooling center near you, call 311 or click here.
PSEG Long Island activated a voluntary plan that lets it control air-conditioning use from afar at some homes and businesses.
In New Jersey, lightning struck two state police vehicles with troopers inside. It happened just after 2 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway. One of the troopers was taken to the hospital for observation, the other did not need medical attention.
The storm also brought heavy rain to Rockland County.
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