Several Manholes Explode In Boston: Evacuations, Road Closures, Outages

BOSTON — Multiple manholes exploded Tuesday night in Boston’s Back Bay Area, with the fires followed by outages, street closures and evacuations, authorities said.

In total, there were six manhole fires on Newbury Street, according to the Boston Fire Department, which reported that four buildings were evacuated, but no one was injured.

Officers responded to the scene around 5:20 p.m., police said, and Eversource was on scene as well.

“At this time, a limited number of customers are without power in the area, and we are continuing to investigate,” Eversource External Communications Manager Olessa Stepanova said in an email.

“Safety remains our top priority, and we will continue working with the fire department and city officials to secure the area before beginning the necessary work to assess damage and make repairs.”

The following streets were closed Tuesday evening, according to police, who said the streets were expected to reopen that night:

• Newbury Street between Exeter and Clarendon streets;
• Dartmouth Street between Boylston Street and Commonwealth Avenue;
• Exeter Street between Boylston Street and Commonwealth Avenue;
• The intersection of Newbury and Dartmouth streets.

Pedestrians were being directed off Newbury Street toward Massachusetts Avenue, police said.