By: Richard L. Smith
PSE&G utility crews are working to restore power to almost 2,000 homes and businesses following a power outage caused by a manhole fire near the Newark-East Orange border on Wednesday night.
Here is what we know so far:
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene near Park Avenue and South 19th Street shortly before 10:20 p.m. after reports of smoke emerging from the ground.
Upon arrival, they discovered fires at multiple locations and began efforts to extinguish the flames.
As of midnight, firefighters had largely brought the blaze under control, but not before the power outage affected numerous homes and businesses along Park Avenue and Grove Street.
The outage has left many without power since around 10:30 p.m.
PSEG has reported that crews are on-site assessing the damage and working to restore power, with an estimated restoration time of around 4 a.m.
UPDATE 12:23 p.m. Outage hasbeen downgraded to 400 with expected restoration being aroung 1 pm
Fortunately, no injuries have been reported as a result of the incident.