FORT WORTH -- Fire and police dispatchers were busy Tuesday night answering calls about "fireballs" in the sky and on the ground in east Fort Worth.
Several transformers were struck by lightning in east Fort Worth Tuesday night, Oncor spokeswoman Jeamy Molina said.
Repair crews worked through overnight Wednesday through the afternoon after the lightning strikes "destroyed" some of the transformers, Molina said.
The police scanner was noisy with chatter as officers called for assistance.
"I need someone from Oncor out here for a transformer on fire," one officer said.
A dispatcher said they were swamped with similar calls and said, "I'll add you to the list."
Fort Worth firefighters responded to several calls involving transformers and electrical problems Tuesday night, Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Tim Hardeman said.
There were several calls about a possible lightning strike at a transformer substation at 4800 Randol Mill Road just after 9 p.m. after repeated sightings of flashes and explosions, Hardeman said.
There was also a report of a transformer on fire at the Five Star Custom Foods storage facility at 3709 East 1st Street at about 10:04 p.m., Hardeman said.
About 210 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes were reported in Tarrant County between 8 and 9 p.m., said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Mosier, who said he couldn't pinpoint the exact locations.
Some 120 more incidents of lightning striking the ground were reported from 9 to 10 p.m., Mosier said.
Mosier said he didn't know if it had to strike the transformer directly or the ground close to it but if the lightning carries a large enough electrical charge, it can "blow" a transformer.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/10/3066121/fireballs-reported-in-east-fort.html#ixzz1WkSZWOmk
Perhaps its a conspiracy or perhaps the fact that the electricity company, the police the firebrigade and weather service confirm a storm and transformer damage is what it is.
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This one has footage of transformers shorting, and downed power cables in the latter half
Not the same event, but the same results
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