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Power outages reported on the east side of Ind. 49 on Thursday night and in Downtown Chesterton--as well as flickering lights on the west side of town--appear to have been the result of a burning NIPSCO pole. Lt. John Jarka of the Chesterton Fire Department told the Chesterton Tribune today that at 7:06 p.m. firefighters were dispatched to the pole, located at 237E 1200N, and babysat it until a NIPSCO crew arrived at 7:48 p.m. The pole was burning at the top, Jarka said, and eventually the top burned off, dropped onto other wires, and there was a short circuit, cutting power to a number of neighborhoods. Affected by the blackout were traffic signals at the intersection of Ind. 49 and East Porter Ave., possibly signals on Indian Boundary Road, and--of some concern--the Dickinson Road lift station, which pumps virtually all wastewater generated east of Ind. 49. Interim Utility Superintendent Mark O’Dell, however, said that a NIPSCO crew had restored power by the time a crew had been dispatched to the lift station. “By the time we mobilized and got a portable generator out there, the power was back on,” he said. “There wasn’t any problem.” While on the subject of the Dickinson Road lift station, O’ Dell noted that the heavy rains experienced elsewhere in the county on Thursday--four to five inches reported in some places, with flooded roadways--gave Chesterton a pass. “We didn’t get hit like some other areas did,” O’Dell said.O’Dell was unable immediately to say how much rain Chesterton received but in any case it was not enough to force a bypass at the wastewater treatment plant nor to force a pump-down of the Dickinson Road lift station, which was victimized by heavy rains earlier this year due to some stormwater infiltration problems.
Posted 6/12/2009 |
