Fallen Tree in Port Deposit Caused Fire, Road Closure, Outages

A fire in Port Deposit Friday night knocked out power and shut down a major road for several hours.

The Water Witch Fire Company responded to a report of wires on fire on MD Route 222 at Frenchtown Road after 8 p.m.

"There was a tree that fell into the wires, and it was blocking the whole roadway, and the wires caught on fire," Capt. Wayne Tome of Water Witch Fire Company told Patch.

Tome said the fire was out, and the power company turned the power off to secure the scene.

Approximately 19 customers in Port Deposit were experiencing power outages Friday evening, Delmarva Power said. The outages were reported at 8:27 p.m. Friday and anticipated to be resolved by 1 a.m. Saturday.

Route 222 was closed at Frenchtown Road at 8:52 p.m., according to the Maryland Department of Transportation, and all lanes of Route 222 remained closed as of 11 p.m.

According to Tome, the wind was a factor in causing the fire.

Cecil County was under a severe thunderstorm warning until 9 p.m. and had been under a tornado watch earlier on Friday.

The Maryland Transit Administration alerted MARC passengers that as a result of fallen trees and signal failures, a train would be single-tracking around 11 p.m. northbound to Perryville from Washington.