boston power outage

It looks like a lot of people in the Northeast where out of power this morning thanks to a manhole explosion. Good thing though is that nobody was hurt, or at least reported.

The 1,000 customers, including residents and government offices, who lost power after several manhole fires in the Theatre District this morning will be waiting most of the morning, if not longer before electricity is restored, according to NStar [NST].

“We’re still assessing the damage and repairs that will be necessary,” said NStar spokesman Mike Durand, who spoke to the Herald at about 8:45 a.m. today.

The pre-dawn power outage prompted the closure of several Theatre District streets including Tremont and Stuart streets and knocked out the electricity to traffic signals. Boston police are directing traffic and drivers are advised to avoid the area.

Workers at the state transportation building were seen this morning milling about in the building’s lobby, where the power was knocked out.

Durand said the power outage was sparked by an underground cable failure that was complicated by additional equipment damage.

He said the majority of the 1,000 customers affected by the outage are in the Theatre District, but the area affected extends as far as Copley Square.

The Boston Fire Department responded to the area of Stuart and Tremont streets at about 5:30 a.m. today after reports of smoking manholes, said Steve MacDonald, BFD spokesman.

He said guests at the Courtyard by Marriott were told to leave their rooms because smoke was also reported inside the hotel. Guests were told to go to the lobby while the fire department investigated.

A representative from the hotel could not immediately be reached.

MacDonald said the fire department has since cleared the scene.

No injuries were reported.