PORT TOWNSEND — A series of small explosions and fire in an underground utility box on Water Street snarled traffic and interrupted power to one building on Wednesday.
There were no injuries and damage was minimal, with no damage outside the utility box near Windermere Real Estate at 1220 Water St., which lost electrical power, said East Jefferson Fire-Rescue and Puget Sound Energy spokeswomen.
James Frazier, a financial adviser renting an office location in the Windermere building, said he heard “10 loud pops” and then saw smoke rise from the ground.
“It was maybe 10 explosions,” he said. “They were really fast and then there was a lot of smoke.”
The explosions and smoke were reported to firefighters at 12:35 p.m., said department spokeswoman Keppie Keplinger.
“A small underground explosion occurred in a power distribution vault,” Keplinger said.
“A short caused the explosion and a small fire, which was out when East Jefferson Fire-Rescue arrived.
Traffic along Water street was stopped for less than 10 minutes as the fire department investigated.
After determining there was no danger to the immediate area, they turned the investigation over to PSE employees.
A spokeswoman for PSE said weather was not a factor and a short had occurred due to an unknown piece of equipment within the Windermere building.
The cause is not yet known, and PSE was still working to restore power to the building on Wednesday night.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
