Traffic alert: Power-pole fire closes 9th/Henderson (and beyond)

1:27 PM: Avoid 9th SW/SW Henderson vicinity in south Highland Park for a while; roads are blocked as emergency responders deal with what was reported as a power-pole fire. We’re heading over to look.

2:31 PM UPDATE: 9th is closed at Henderson and at Trenton. We were told at the scene that City Light will have to replace the pole, so the closure might last a while. No outage reported, though.

2:53 PM: STREET CLOSED signs are now arriving in the area, more proof it’ll be a while – with 9th closed from Barton to Trenton, Henderson closed east of 10th.

3:07 PM: Scanner-monitored discussion indicates the closure will constrict back to 9th/Henderson.

8:35 PM: We just stopped by the scene. 9th isn’t blocked, but Henderson is, and police/utility crews there say they will likely be working “a few more hours.” The new pole is up but now it’s time for connecting, testing, etc. – and they’re working in rain and wind.

gina October 22, 2014 (2:28 pm)

Just saw C ride bus heading up Admiral and took left turn at California. Lost bus, or is there a problem on Avalon?

WSB October 22, 2014 (2:30 pm)

Nothing on the log. Did you see its lightboards? Yesterday we saw one way out of place in the Admiral District that had a sign indicating it was out of service or headed somewhere else …

Gina October 22, 2014 (2:54 pm)

The bus was full of people, stopped at the Metro stop in front of Circa and let some off.

WSB October 22, 2014 (2:55 pm)

I’m signed up for all the advisories and only one in effect right now is 131 rerouted from this particular closure in Highland Park. Mysterious!

Sam October 22, 2014 (3:05 pm)

Talked to a cop, they said power was going to be shut off (it’s not yet as of 3:00pm) and that it was going to take “all night” to fix.

WSB October 22, 2014 (3:06 pm)

Thanks. Things might change – right now, for example, scanner talk indicates the closure will constrict to just around 9th/Henderson, rather than extending a block in either direction north/south/west (east is parkland).

SCL worker (not line crew) October 22, 2014 (3:25 pm)

That pole has 3 phase distribution on it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the outage is pretty widespread for the repairs.

Vanessa October 22, 2014 (5:28 pm)

I live nearby. Will there be any notice for customers that might lose power?

Sherri P October 22, 2014 (8:31 pm)

Is there any update on the power pole work? I am about 6 blocks north and east, will we be losing power tonight?

WSB October 22, 2014 (8:40 pm)

Sherri, we just stopped there and they told us they’re working for a few more hours. No outage thus far, apparently, but we don’t have any official word from SCL on whether one is yet to come … the new pole is up now and they’re doing some connecting, etc.

C_B October 22, 2014 (8:51 pm)

Yes, would be really great to know when and how long. Is always better to do a managed shutdown of devices when you know the power is going to go out.