Explosions, fire at Hydro One station leave thousands powerless

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Hydro station fire cuts power to thousands in Sudbury

Captured On Camera: Sudbury-area power station explosion

A fire at a Hydro One distribution station early Wednesday left thousands without power in Greater Sudbury, Ont.

Hydro One officials said the fire broke out at approximately 4:40 a.m., affecting roughly 8,400 customers.

“Local emergency crews safely extinguished the fire, and we restored power to more than 4,000 customers before noon,” a company spokesperson said.

Hydro One confirmed that power to all of its customers was restored by about 2:30 p.m.

Deputy Fire Chief Jesse Oshell said fire services received calls around 5:45 a.m. about loud bangs resembling explosions at the Hydro One facility on O’Neil Drive in Garson.

Crews also responded to reports of downed power lines on Falconbridge Road, which were confirmed upon arrival at the intersection of Falconbridge and Penman Avenue.

“Unsure, of course, if they were live or not, we blocked off the roadway to protect the scene,” Oshell said.

“We were able to get Hydro One to respond very quickly in order to start addressing that situation.”

He added that one nearby residence was believed to be impacted by the fire.

“There was some damage to the power line at the home and electrically inside the home, causing some smoke and the smell of burning inside,” Oshell said.

“Thankfully, we were very close by. Our crews were able to attend, ascertain where this electrical fire was coming from, isolate the power to the home and ensure everything was safe.”

The home’s residents told fire officials they would be contacting a qualified electrician and working with Hydro One.

Ryon Wells, who lives nearby, said he was standing in his backyard when the incident began.

“I heard like a loud electrical humming, and then a big — kind of sounded like an electrical explosion – from the substation,” Wells said.

“Then I saw a little puff of smoke, and I noticed the power lines were shaking. And then it happened again shortly after – another big bang. Then I decided to just jump in my car and go down the road to see what’s happening.”

Meanwhile, Greater Sudbury Utilities reported that the outage affected 938 customers in Coniston and 312 in Falconbridge.

Hydro One officials reminded residents that outages can be reported by texting 92887 (WATTS), through the company’s outage map and app, or by calling 1-800-434-1235. The outage tools are updated every 10 minutes as crews provide updates.

Customers can also sign up for text or email notifications at Hydro One’s outage page.