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Unconfirmed reports major fire { August 14 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.cjad.com/content/cjad_news/article.asp?id=n081439Ahttp://www.cjad.com/content/cjad_news/article.asp?id=n081439A
Widespread power outage spans Ontario, New York; no official cause given
Updated at 17:14 on August 14, 2003, EST.
TORONTO (CP) - A widespread power outage hit most of Ontario and the United States as far west as Cleveland on late Thursday afternoon, shutting down offices and forcing workers to navigate their way home without traffic lights or transit in sweltering temperatures.
Blackouts were reported in Toronto, as well as Ottawa in the province's eastern reaches, Windsor in the west and North Bay in the northern part of Ontario. The blackout had not spread as far as Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario, suggesting power in the north was sporadic.
In the U.S., cities spreading from New York to Cleveland and Detroit were affected. Thousands of people streamed into the streets of lower Manhattan following the blackout.
"It's not clear what the cause is," said Anne Creighton of Hydro One. "But clearly we have a northeastern issue here. It's not just Ontario, it's the adjoining states as well. We're checking our system to see what the impact is, but it looks like the majority of the province could be out."
Creighton said parts of Ontario and Quebec are on the same power grid as the northeastern region of the United States.
"We're all interconnected, so an impact outside of our jurisdiction could affect our system."
In Washington, the Pentagon said there was no reason to suspect terrorism in the unprecedented blackout.
Power was also knocked out on Parliament Hill, leaving scant emergency lighting.
In Toronto, streetcars preparing to transport workers around the downtown core for the evening rush hour ground to a halt, sending riders into the street to hail taxi cabs.
"The streetcar can't go anywhere, you just have to wait," said Mike Collins, a streetcar driver with the Toronto Transit Commission.
There were unconfirmed reports of a major fire in a generator in lower Manhattan and another at a power plant in upstate New York.
The outage came as much of Ontario and the eastern seaboard baked in temperatures that hovered just above 30C.
Every prison in New York state reported a loss of power and had switched to backup generators, said James Flateau, a spokesman for New York's Department of Corrections.
© The Canadian Press, 2003
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