Large power outage affects east and southeast Durham, traffic lights out
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Power outages caused by multiple downed power lines disrupted businesses, traffic and a summer camp program across Durham on Wednesday as crews worked to restore service.
According to Duke Energy, two separate incidents caused the outages, including a truck that brought down a power line on Ashe Street.
At Sofia's Pizza in east Durham, employees worked to adjust operations while waiting for power to return.
"There's a lot of things we have to do," general manager Maria Rivera Fenochio said. "We might open in the afternoon. Right now, our main focus is setting up the generator to start the refrigerators."
Chopper 11 also captured a downed tree and crews repairing power poles on East Main Street.
The outages affected city operations as well.
City Hall opened late because of the power outage, and several traffic lights were out, requiring drivers to treat intersections as four-way stops.
Maureen Joy Charter School was also affected. Students attending summer camp began the day as scheduled but were sent home early.
"We started to realize this may not be resolved as quickly as we thought it would," Executive Director Dr. Kelvin Bullock said.
Bullock said power was restored later than expected, but staff took steps to keep students safe amid concerns about food storage and high temperatures.
"We serve lunch to our students, so we need to make sure we're able to refrigerate milk," Bullock said. "In this North Carolina heat, we want to make sure that the building is cool and the kids are able to be in a safe space throughout the afternoon."
Duke Energy said it expected service to be restored by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Power had been restored to affected customers by Wednesday afternoon. However, numerous traffic signals in the southeast part of Durham remained without power into the evening.
Drivers should note that intersections with non-functioning traffic signals should be treated as four-way stops. Officials are urging motorists to use caution, expect delays, and allow extra travel time while crews work to fully restore power.
