'A perfect storm': Underground explosion, sub-station power trip, transformer damaged by squirrel leaves 4,000 without power

SALT LAKE CITY — An underground explosion early Saturday morning left parts of downtown Salt Lake City in the dark, disrupting businesses and cutting into bottom lines. Rocky Mountain Power said the blast happened near 300 South and Main Street, impacting several businesses in the area — leaving 17 without power.  300 South and Main Street in Salt Lake City “It went off about 2:45 in the morning. I hear a boom,” owner of Utah Book and Magazine Peter Marshall said. He said he was the first to call 911 after spotting flames shooting 10 to 15 feet high. Across the street from the explosion, Marshall’s store was without power all day, forcing customers to walk out when he couldn’t process credit cards. “It’s kind of a blow just because we’re coming into our busy season now,” said bar director at Felt Bar and Eatery Josh Van Gorden. He said the outage could derail a packed evening. “We have, I think, 30 or so reservations planned before 8 p.m., and we might have to cancel all of them.” Despite the uncertainty, Van Gorden remained hopeful. “I would love just the light bulb to come on right now," Van Gorden said. "And then we all are like, okay, it’s not a big deal. And we all go back and have a good dinner service.” Rocky Mountain Power crews are working to locate the source of the problem using specialized equipment that sends sound-frequency waves underground. “It just takes a long time because they have to use some specialized equipment," said Rocky Mountain Power spokesperson Jona Whitesides. Beyond the underground explosion, a squirrel tripped a transformer, leaving thousands without power. "A squirrel had gotten into a transformer and caused a trip and put all of those customers without power. It's not uncommon to get animals in the lines," Whitesides said. Then, another outage was launched after a driver hit a pole causing a power trip at the sub-station on 5th West and 200 South. All three incidents caused 4,000 people to lose power. "Just a lot of perfect storm things happening today,” Whitesides said. “We definitely know this is impactful and can disrupt their day.” For real-time updates on outages, visit https://www.rockymountainpower.net.

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