Smoke filled streets downtown
POUGHKEEPSIE – Much of the downtown area of the City of Poughkeepsie
was without power since 10 a.m. on Tuesday as an underground manhole fire
billowed smoke out into the streets from an underground electric network.
City firefighters were on the scene on Catherine Street to quell the fire,
the cause of which remains unknown at this time, said Central Hudson spokesman
John Maserjian.
Some 830 homes, businesses and buildings were impacted by the outage.
Rerouted power was expected to restore electricity to all but five businesses
and apartments on Academy Street between Main Street and the eastbound
arterial.
Crews were expected to work throughout the night to repair damage caused
by the outage.
Overnight temperatures were expected to remain above freezing; however,
Central Hudson suggested that customers allow faucets to drip to help
prevent frozen pipes.
The impacted area, which includes the Dutchess County Government office
buildings, ranges from Church Street, Columbus Drive to Academy Street,
Mill Street from Civic Center to North Hamilton Street as well as intersections
between the two east/west corridors.
