A direct lightning strike caused a fire at an electrical substation beneath the Norfork Dam on Sunday, leaving more than 4,000 customers of the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) in the area without power.
The strike sparked a fire at an NAEC Norfork Substation regulator around 5:20 p.m. and affected residents in Norfork, Sycamore Springs, and Pineville. By 10:30 p.m., the utility company said another regulator had been installed to replace the damaged unit and power had been restored to many residents around the time.
However, at 5:30 Monday morning, NAEC personnel discovered some additional grounding damage, resulting in a repair effort that again left some customers of the Norfork Substation without power.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, NAEC estimated power should be restored to everyone by mid-day.
Images via NAEC Facebook
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