Downtown Colorado Springs business owners struggle without power after underground fire
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - More than 280 residents and businesses in downtown Colorado Springs have been without power since an underground transformer caught fire underground.
"Just heard a huge boom, it was like lightning struck the building," said Mariah Jones, who was evacuated from her building.
Flames were seen shooting out of manholes just west of the Nevada Ave. and Kiowa St. intersection. Jones said in addition to the flames, she could hear loud booms coming from below.
Nearby residents weren't the only ones impacted. Businesses in the area also spent the day without power.
Kevin Megyerie, the owner of Bambino's Urban Pizzeria and the Skirted Heifer, said his employees are the ones who suffer the most during outages.
"We have roughly 55 people that depend on us for a paycheck," explained Megyerie. "And if we're not open, they're not getting paid. Restaurants have slim margins."
Other businesses spent Monday trying to make the most out of the situation. Don Niemyer, the owner of Story Coffee Company, told KRDO he and his team have been brewing coffee off of a generator. Still, Niemyer said he understands not everyone can do that.
Colorado Springs Utilities is still investigating what caused the transformer to catch fire. There also isn't a set time for when the power will be back on, but the company officials said they're optimistic it'll be back on Monday evening.
