First Energy crews are still out and have been working hard all night to restore power to our city. The issues on their end were complex, concerning closing a breaker to protective relay problems. First Energy called in additional help to problem solve and make repairs. The problem has been fixed and power is now being restored to by our Cuyahoga Falls Electric Department: We understand that this been an incredible inconvenience. Power will be restored as quickly as possible barring any other unforeseen issues
UPDATE - 9:45 p.m. - First Energy has updated that power outages will likely continue for the next several hours. First Energy crews are working hard to piece the pole back together, make needed repairs, and restore power to our substation as quickly as possible.
UPDATE - 6:35 p.m. - First Energy estimates that repairs will be made and power will be restored in roughly 4 hours or by approximately 10:30 p.m.
UPDATE - 5:35 p.m. - questions are being asked about how one pole can take an entire city out of power. First Energy feeds one of our main transmission lines into Valley Substation which is where the fire happened. First Energy owns the transmission lines which feeds the substation. First Energy remains on scene and crews are working as quickly as possible to fix the pole and restore power to our city.
UPDATE - 4:50 pm - The citywide power outage was caused by an internal fire in a First Energy pole on Portage Trail Extension West. The fire caused the pole to snap at the attachment point. First Energy is now on scene to fix the pole so that power may be restored to the city. Currently, there is no ETA on when the pole can be fixed and power restored, but this post will be updated as soon as more information is available.
There are widespread power outages across the city. Crews are assessing the situation now. Please drive with extreme caution as traffic lights are also out. An update will be posted as soon as possible.