A section of Washington Street caught fire yesterday after a lightning strike knocked two high voltage power lines down in Riverdale.
The storm that rolled over Cape Ann around 2 p.m. yesterday left about 4,000 Gloucester and Rockport residents without power.
Near the start of the storm, lightning struck a telephone pole in front of a house at 518 Washington St. Two power lines carrying 13,200 volts of electricity were split, sending them to the ground where they hung in long tendrils that stretched across the ground from the neighboring poles, according to Steve Schaufler, an employee of National Grid.
"It was spitting sparks so bright it was like a welding torch," said Eric Pacheco, who saw the lightning strike the pole from his living room window at 1 Gee Ave.
Emergency vehicles arrived at the scene within five minutes of the strike and closed Washington Street between Gee Avenue and Stanwood Street. Firefighters were unable to deal with the sparking wires until National Grid shut off the power around 3:15 p.m. Officials said that National Grid was not able to respond quicker because of other outages around the area.
The fire, which spread from a baseball-sized flame to a small blaze that burned about 6 feet of road, burned for about an hour before crews could get to it.
"It was burning pretty good, and there was 3 inches of rain to boot," said Deputy Chief Steven Aiello. And it was still burning through the water, he added. By the time crews were given the clear by National Grid, the flames had burned out. The asphalt had changed into a lumpy mass that sent up billows of white smoke.
When crews broke up the pliable road with pikes and began hosing it down, the water that collected in the open pits boiled due to the intense heat.
According to Aiello, the road caught fire because of the oils and chemicals that are part of the asphalt. He said that it is not usual for a road to catch fire.
When a power line breaks, he said, the fuses and current breakers on the poles are supposed to trip to shut off power to the line. This did not happen. What is more, since the lines were submerged in a section of the street that Washington Street resident John Pettibone said tends to flood when it rains, Aiello said that the electricity mixed with the water and burned a hole right through the road.
Firefighters were concerned that the power running through the lines, combined with the wet environment, could have damaged nearby properties or injured pedestrians. No injuries were reported, and there was no apparent damage to private property.
However, Aiello said that the fire had the potential to be much worse. With all that power running through those lines, said Aiello, "anything could have happened."
Because a gas line runs right underneath the burned section of the road, Aiello said they were concerned that the lines might have been damaged. Nobody could smell any gas, but Aiello said the utility company would have to dig up the road to check the pipes, which are buried 4 feet under the ground, just to be sure.
A Ford Ranger and a Mazda Tribute that were parked on the side of the road were narrowly missed by the exposed lines, which landed only 20 feet away from them.
John Morris, the owner of the cars, had been sitting with his wife when they heard the thunderclap. He knew it was close, he said, because the flash and the thunder occurred at the same time.
Looking outside, he saw a white ball of electricity. He returned inside, called 911, and waited for the police to arrive before going back outside.
Patrolwoman Jill Brosnan had a close encounter herself. While she was responding to an incident in Lanesville, she drove past the pole on 518 Washington St. just as the lightning hit it. The strike raised the hair on her arms, she said. And though she and her patrol car were unscathed, the strike somehow knocked out her radio.
"I had to shut it down for like 10 minutes to get all the hinky stuff out so it would work again," she said.
National Grid spokesman David Graves said the thunderstorms that rumbled over Cape Ann yesterday knocked out power to thousands of customers in both Gloucester and Rockport. The number peaked at around 4,000 at 3 p.m.
National Grid was not able to determine the number of customers who lost power due to the lightning strike on Washington Street. The company did say, however, that at around 4:20 p.m. everyone in Rockport had power restored and only 572 customers in Gloucester were still without power. Aiello, however, did say that he was informed by National Grid that power would be restored to the area by last night.
According to Jay Oliver, an employee of the Gloucester Department of Public Works, who was at the scene, the damaged section of road would have to be cut out and repaved. Repairs on the road are expected to begin today.
Michael Farrell can be reached at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.
