Upper West Side Manhole Fires: Hundreds Lose Power

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The morning after multiple manholes erupted in flames on the Upper West Side, crews were still working to restore power to hundreds of neighborhood residents.

The FDNY and utilities provider Con Edison battled fires in manholes within the vicinity of West 71st Street and Broadway Thursday night, an FDNY spokesman said. The fires sent thick smoke billowing into the streets and caused hundreds of Con Ed customers in the neighborhood to lose power.

As of 11:30 Friday Con Edison was still on scene trying to restore power to more than 175 customers, according to an outage map. The utility company estimated that service would be restored to all customers by 3 p.m.m according to the map.

The power problems were all fixed by Saturday morning.

While crews worked on the Upper West Side police shut down a number of streets including main stretches of Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

The following roads were closed, according to the NYPD's 20th precinct:

No injuries were reported as a result of the manhole fires, an FDNY spokesman said.

Photo courtesy Lee Kowarski via Twitter