Explosion reported in Midtown Atlanta; underground fire knocks out power to 4,000 customers

Residents reported hearing an explosion near a busy Midtown intersection Monday night, prompting a response from Atlanta Fire Rescue crews who later found and extinguished a small underground fire that knocked out power to thousands of customers.

Atlanta Fire Rescue said crews were called to the area of 11th Street and Crescent Avenue around 8 p.m. after witnesses reported hearing what sounded like an explosion. Firefighters located a small underground fire, which was quickly put out. 

Atlanta police blocked off the area as a safety precaution, and officials urged the public to avoid the intersection while crews worked. No injuries were reported. 

A Georgia Power spokesperson said it was an equipment failure that caused the outage affecting about 4,000 customers in Midtown Atlanta. The company said power was restored to most customers early Tuesday morning. Crews are still on scene to complete final repairs.

Less than 10 customers remain without power, according to the Georgia Power spokesperson, and service is expected to be fully restored by noon Tuesday. The utility company emphasized the outage was not related to the winter storm.