St. Paul electrical surge that torched cars may be due to copper wire theft, firefighters say

Explosions of fire and color lit up the St. Paul sky Sunday night.

The St. Paul Fire Department received multiple calls just before midnight, Deputy Chief Jamie Smith said. Callers reported the sound of a violent explosion near the old Sears parking lot.

"This was quite the magnificent display of power and energy," said Smith.

The explosion tripped two electrical boxes not far away, Smith said, causing wires to detach from a power pole, which fell onto a minivan that became engulfed in flames.

St. Paul police said multiple vehicles caught fire. Police said they are still investigating the cause and haven't arrested anyone.

Firefighters said they used a new technique, hoping to douse the flames amid dangerous, energized wires.

"What we did for the first time is utilize some dry chemical grenades that we haven't utilized until this incident, and they're just like they sound, they're grenades with a safety switch, they have a pin," said Smith. "They operate just like a fire extinguisher would."

Even that didn't work. Xcel crews handled it from there, Smith said.

Xcel Energy crews were on scene Monday afternoon, working to restore power to dozens of customers. In total, an Xcel spokesperson said 400 homes and businesses were impacted. All power was restored by mid-afternoon, the utility said.

Several pieces of evidence point to attempted copper wire theft as the cause, Smith said.

"When we arrived on scene, Xcel confirmed that they did not have anybody authorized to be working in that area and there was a manhole cover that was off at that time," said Smith.

A spokesperson with St. Paul Public Works said the city is seeing an uptick in copper wire thefts this spring. The plan this year is to add more cameras to help catch thieves, they said, but there are already some cameras in place to do that.

"We are surprised and we are thankful that no one was injured, whether it be bystanders, responders or anybody unauthorized to be in those locations," said Smith.

City officials said people should call the police right away if they suspect copper wire theft around street lights or ground vaults.