116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Power restored to parts of northeast Cedar Rapids
UPDATE: Hundreds lost power when lightning trailed down a utility pole and melted sidewalk concrete in northeast Cedar Rapids overnight.
The strike around 12:15 a.m. fractured a wooden utility pole at 42nd Street and Westchester Drive NE. Bits of concrete littered the sidewalk and a small spot of grass was charred at the intersection.
Pedestrians walking by could smell a burning odor.
At 6:30 a.m., about 300 Alliant customers were still without power.
Alliant Energy crews were making repairs. Four trucks were parked on Sally Drive NE.
A worker on the scene said the strike damaged three poles and also caused problems with underground transmission.
Power was returning for some residents in the area at 7:20 a.m.
Bits of crumbled and melted concrete remain on the sidewalk near the intersection of 42nd Street and Westchester Drive NE after a lightning strike early this morning, Wednesday, June 2, 2010. The strike fractured a utility pole and knocked out power to hundreds of residents. (Jeff Raasch/The Gazette)
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