The fire in South Hall Monday afternoon that was caused by a construction accident that resulted in what the sheriff’s office called “a widespread” power outage covered only about an acre, according to Hall County Fire Rescue.
“This fire was deemed accidental by our Fire Marshal’s Office,” HCFR spokeswoman Kimberlie Ledsinger said Tuesday. “Construction workers were using an excavator that in turn knocked over a tree onto power lines nearby. This started a grass fire, which was approximately one acre large. Our crews began to extinguish the flames, but only stayed on scene until (state forestry commission crews) arrived.”
As far as the power outage itself is concerned, a Jackson EMC spokeswoman said late Tuesday afternoon she was still gathering information on how many customers were affected, how widespread it was, and the amount and kinds of damage the fire caused to the electric co-op’s equipment.
EARLIER STORY (POSTED AT 4:30 MONDAY AFTERNOON): A widespread power outage in South Hall Monday afternoon was caused when an excavator caught fire and pulled down some powerlines in the 5900 block of Blackberry Lane just off McEver Road.
The sheriff’s office issued an advisory about 4:30 saying “Even though the fire is located in an area away from major thoroughfares, several power substations were impacted. There are widespread power outages across the south end of the county, including traffic signals.”
Hall County Fire Rescue worked the fire and Jackson EMC crews took care of the power outage.
(Photo courtesy sheriff’s office.)