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The ground below a passenger vehicle collapsed and knocked out power to hundreds of people in downtown Windsor on Tuesday afternoon.
Asphalt in an alley running from Park Street to University Avenue West behind the Royal Windsor Terrace condo building collapsed into an electrical vault while a vehicle was parked on top of it at around 4 p.m.
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“I was in my store and then I heard an explosion,” said Misty Sergi, owner of The Gifting Tree at 90 Park St. W. “I ran down to the alley and I saw the car like that. It was loud. I was freaking out.
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“It was so disturbing to me. You have no idea. I’m so freaked out.
“I ran back to the store and called 911.
Roughly 500 Enwin Utilities customers were without power as a result, including residents in surrounding apartment buildings, nearby businesses, city hall, and others.
Traffic lights at intersections in the area were also without power. Residents were asked to avoid the area, and a block of Park Street West between Pelissier Street and Ouellette Avenue was closed to pedestrians and traffic as a precaution.
James Waffle, deputy chief of operations with Windsor Fire and Rescue Services, said no one was injured in the incident.
“There was no fire, no smoke,” Waffle said.
“It’s going to take some time to get the vault back up and functioning properly.”
At around 9 p.m., the City of Windsor released a statement saying it was working with Enwin Utilities, Enbridge Gas, and Cogec to bring utilities back online “as soon as possible.”
Enwin anticipated having the grid isolated to return power to most customers by midnight, the city said.
“Once the area is isolated, the vault will be cleared and equipment inspected to see what needs to be done to bring everyone back on line,” the city said.
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“Drivers are asked to use extra caution at impacted downtown intersections in case traffic lights are flashing or not functioning. Please treat (them) as four-way stops.”
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens saw a photo of the vehicle in the hole and was compelled to walk over to the scene from city hall.
“I couldn’t understand how it happened when I saw the picture, so I wanted to see for myself,” he told reporters.
“It’s an odd situation.
“If you drive through the alley, you would never realize there’s a hydro vault — one of those green hydro boxes you see around the city — it’s underground, and it feeds power to the downtown area.”
Dilkens said his biggest concern was restoring power to residents as quickly as possible.
The city said more information will be made available later Wednesday morning as it becomes available.
In a statement posted online, the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association said it is “deeply concerned” about the incident.
“The safety of our community and the stability of our businesses remains a priority,” the BIA said.
“We recognize the potential disruptions this event may cause to businesses in the immediate area. Please be assured that the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association is committed to offering our full support to all affected businesses during this challenging time.”
tcampbell@postmedia.com
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