After outage, firefighters dispatched to multiple calls

Updated 2:30 p.m.
Power came back on around 2:15 p.m. in downtown Davidson after a nearly three-hour outage caused by a broken transmission line knocked out power to several thousand customers. Power was restored not long after a Duke Energy spokeswoman told DavidsonNews.net that crews had finally discovered the source of the problem, which blacked out an area from N.C. 115 near Bailey Road in Cornelius to Davidson College and points north.

At one point, Duke Energy reportedly was using a helicopter to scan transmission lines in search of the problem. At around 2 p.m., a Duke spokeswoman said workers had “identified the area along the transmission line” where the problem occurred. She would not give the location or say what may have caused it.

[At around 4 p.m., the spokeswoman said power was cut when a line became detached from one side of an electrical switch serving the area. She said the problem was a rare one. She would not say where the failed equipment is located. "They are still investigating," she said. A definitive cause may not be known for a day or two, she said.]

The outage affected several circuits around Davidson serving thousands of customers in Mecklenburg County, and a smaller number in Iredell County. The Duke spokeswoman did not have exact figures, but at one point this afternoon Duke’s outage log showed 3,800 customers without power in Mecklenburg County. It wasn’t clear how many were directly related to the north Mecklenburg transmission line break, though moments before the outage, Duke’s log listed just 40 customers without power in the county. After power was restored, the report showed 39 customers without power.

At the peak of the outage, power was out to hundreds of homes and businesses, as well as schools. Davidson Elementary, Davidson IB Middle and other institutions in Davidson, and J.V. Washam Elementary in Cornelius were without power.

Firefighters responded to about a dozen emergency calls during the outage, primarily related to alarms triggered when the power went out.

Some institutions and businesses were operating on backup generators, including radio station WDAV-FM, which remained on the air, as well as laboratories and other buildings at the college.

Updated 12:52 p.m.
A power outage that may have been the result of a cut transmission line has knocked out power to an area from N.C. 115 near Bailey Road in Cornelius to Davidson and the Iredell County line.

Davidson town officials say it’s the result of a break in a Duke Energy transmission line, and that power may be out for several hours. A Duke Energy spokeswoman as unable to confirm the cause or say how many customers are without power.

Power was out or only partially available at homes, schools (including Davidson Elementary) and other locations. Some buildings at Davidson College were operating on emergency generators.

Updated 12:08 p.m.
Davidson, Cornelius and Mount Mourne firefighters were dispatched to a rare series of simultaneous calls around 11:35 this morning. The calls followed a power outage in parts of town that may have triggered alarms. None of the calls appeared to involve fires or serious incidents.

Traffic lights on Main Street briefly went out, and were set to flashing at midday. A Duke Energy spokeswoman said just after noon the trouble appeared to be related to a problem with major transmission lines.

“A transmission issue is affecting several circuits,” she said. She was not sure how many customers are affected. Duke Energy serves the old part of Davidson.

Some customers told DavidsonNews.net they appeared to have only partial power, with dimmed or non-operating lights and other issues.

Davidson firefighters initially responded to a call at the Chambers Building at Davidson College, which came at the same time that power went out in the old part of town.

Meanwhile, Cornelius firefighters were sent to a home on Catawba Avenue, on the West Side, for an activated carbon monoxide alarm, soon after.

Then a fire call came in from the Community School of Davidson, 565 Griffith St. Dispatchers activated fire companies from Cornelius and Mount Mourne. Those who responded reported no smoke or fire and the response was canceled within minutes.

Units responding to the Chambers Hall call were cleared around 11:45.

OTHER ALARMS

The loss of power apparently triggered a slew of other alarms.

Another call came in at noon about a carbon monoxide alarm at a home on Mallard Court, on the West Side. Residents were evacuating, but there appeared to be no problems. By 12:10 firefighters had left that scene and headed to 310 Lakeside Ave., for another report of a carbon monoxide alarm.