LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- U.S. 42 is closed in Oldham County and a neighborhood is without power after a tree fell on a power line.
Louisville Gas & Electric spokeswoman Liz Pratt tells WDRB that earlier reports that there was a transformer explosion aren't accurate, but Oldham County dispatchers said initial reports about 4:41 a.m. Thursday were that a transformer blew near the River Bluff neighborhood.
What actually happened was a tree fell and hit a power line. It caused a small fire and a lot of noise.
Residents of River Bluff, like Donya Allen, woke up to the mess. "It just burst into flames. It was like crackle and pop. Like fireworks going off."
LG&E has utility crews on scene to make repairs to what it calls a "large project." A tree fell on a powerline early Thursday knocking out power to thousands. (WDRB Image) Oct. 13, 2022
LG&E has utility crews on scene to make repairs to what it calls a "large project." The outage map shows about 400 people in the River Bluff neighborhood are without power. Pratt says there were up to 3,500 without power initially, but most of those have been restored.
The entrance to the River Bluff neighborhood was blocked by a traffic light weighing down wires that were nearly touching the roadway on U.S. 42. So there are major repairs that need to be made.
Neighbors had no way out of the area and no one is allowed in, and that has been scary and inconvenient.
“That side of the street like legitimately, at four o’clock in the morning, it was just lit. It just lit up, and I looked as I walked outside and I seen that it was lit at the top of that pole and just seen sparks. Immediately, I just called 911," Allen says.
Residents were told that power may not be restored until well into Thursday evening.
U.S. 42 could be closed from River Bluff Road to Hayfield Way for most of the day. Traffic is being detoured to Covered Bridge Road (329) to Meadowland Drive.
This story will be updated.
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