CSU reveals details on September outage downtown, where fire burst through manholes
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs Utilities says they have determined the cause of an underground fire in downtown Colorado Springs last year, which led to flames blowing off manhole covers, and power outages.
The fire happened on September 11, 2023, leaving 280 customers in the dark for anywhere from two to five days, after fire blasted through manholes on Kiowa Street in downtown Colorado Springs.
CSU stating that they spent $1.2 million dollars while investigating, and repairing the damage caused by the flames which broke out overnight to begin the work week for many downtown.
They found that the fire was not caused by one of their transformers, as originally suspected, but rather sparked by damages to other cables that are owned by another company, but cannot say for sure which company is responsible.
CSU explained there are upwards of 20 lines of cables, fibre optics and pipes from telecomm companies and other entities that run parallel to their own infrastructure underground.
"There was a patch that was plywood, put underneath the asphalt, that appeared to damage the conduit. And we have reason to believe that the insulation on the lines was damaged from that." explained Somer Mese, the Chief Operations Officer of CSU.
It was ugly cleanup, which also left so many businesses, like the Mediterranean Cafe on Kiowa Street, without power for five days, and damaged their water systems as well, leaving them unable to open for another two days after getting power.
The owner of the cafe, Ronnie Hunter, says that in addition to their shutdown, Kiowa Streets' closure while repairs were made for the next seven weeks, further hurt their business.
"You know, it might have affected businesses, but it also affected livelihoods. And I think that's the biggest thing." said Hunter, who said he still paid his employees during the week they were out of work.
Hunter says he appreciated the hard work of Colorado Springs Fire Department, CSU and the city agencies that helped in the aftermath, but hopes that CSU helps prevent an outage like this from happening.
Mese, says that's exactly what they're looking into right now. She says the types of technology they are considering are above industry standard, and would help spot interruptions in cable insulation or similar mechanisms like a breaker in your house. Mese estimates those upgrades would cost an additional $1 million dollars.
She clarified that the $1.2 million dollars that were spent from the initial repairs and investigation, as well as those potential future upgrades, will not tack on any costs to their customers bills.
