WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Lightning Strikes; Power Out to Thousands in Savannah
Member Center:
Around 10:30 Saturday night, Georgia Power crews finally restored power for the last of their Savannah customers. Six thousand homes and businesses had been left in the dark for more than four hours after lightning struck power lines on Waldburg Street. The lightning strike set the lines on fire, burning up two of the feeder lines
. Firefighters and Georgia Power crews blocked off the area to keep people away from the downed lines. The fire burned out quickly once power to the lines was cut. Nathan Hamilton was right next door when it happened.
"I hear an explosion. I hear thunder and I walk outside and the transformer's on fire," he said. "There's wire on the ground on fire. I'm hearing electrical currents. It was like Frankenstein's lab out there."
A Savannah firefighter said one power line set the insulation in one home's roof on fire as it fell from the transformer. Firefighters and electricians say don't touch or even go near any downed electrical lines.
