Workers Still Restoring Power In Wagoner After Substation Fire

The fire shut off power to 3,000 customers. Wagoner Public Works Authority reports several hundred customers in the southeast side of town are still without power Wednesday. Earlier Wednesday, police had said all power had been restored.  

Those still without electric service are in the neighborhood where the power pole was damaged. They hoped to have all power restored by noon. 

Officials said the outage started when an asphalt truck backed into a power pole which caused a domino effect that led to a fire at a substation.

Businesses and stop lights across the city went dark.

At the Stop-MN-Go convenience store, no electricity meant no gas and no credit cards, but owner Terry Hussain kept the shop open during the day.  He said his security system is on a separate power source and will run for 48 hours.

“I'm feeling safe tonight. We still have the security system and a lot of friends will watch all night. They will take care of our things,” Hussain said.

Crews rushed to repair a substation that's more than 50 years old that caught fire.

Utilities Director, Dwayne Elam said, “Long story short, we had a crew laying asphalt, hooked a line and it caused problems all the way back to the substation.”

Around 3,000 people on the grid lost power, along with Wagoner's Central Intermediate School.

There will be power to Central for school on Wednesday, but while that was still in question, Superintendent Monte Thompson already had a plan in place.

"Yes it will be unique. Kids will not be on computers. They might need pen and paper, but it will be a unique way for our kids to learn still,” Thompson said.

City Hall, the courthouse and buildings that house emergency crews all immediately kicked over to generators after the fire.

Wagoner Mayor James Jennings said the repairs are going to be costly, but safety is top priority.

"Some of our people are on oxygen and our ambulance crews are ready with oxygen. The hospital is ready with tanks of oxygen. So, first priority is getting power back on and we will figure out dollars once the power is up and going," the mayor said.

No businesses on the west side of the city, like the hospital and Walmart, reported any outages because they run off a completely different substation.

The mayor said the substation that caught fire is actually their most reliable, and that Tuesday was simply an accident.