COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Colorado Springs Utilities has finally revealed the cause of what led to a downtown fire in September.
The fire which was located below Kiowa Street between Tejon Street and Nevada Avenue caused evacuations and a shelter-in-place order after flames were reported being seen coming out of the top of manholes.
WATCH: Colorado Springs Utilities Still Working to Restore Power Downtown
Now, CSU says a private contractor is likely to blame for the electrical fire, the contractor was allegedly operating a core drill without following state protocols. Core drills are usually truck-mounted and used for the installation of underground pipes or wires.
After that drilling, the utility company says underground electric cables were then damaged, triggering a fire. It caused power to be cut for about 280 customers in that area.
During their investigation, Colorado Springs Utilities found damages in the area that were consistent with core drilling but could not pinpoint the work to any contractor in particular.
“While the ideal is to have a clear indication of who caused the initial damage, the likelihood of reaching a definitive conclusion is remote,” Colorado Springs Utilities Chief Executive Officer Travas Deal. “Despite extensive evaluation of City permits and our own locate records, we were unable to connect the point of origin to a specific contractor and/or timeframe."
We’re removing the vault coverings to access the downtown underground transformer. We’ll then be able to fully evaluate the extent of the damage caused by this morning’s equipment failure. Follow https://t.co/PuNKUhSnTv for updates. pic.twitter.com/Q6GQGrLx9E
— Colorado Springs Utilities (@CSUtilities) September 11, 2023
Colorado Springs Utilities did a test of a transformer that was housed under Kiowa Street and found it to be working, further leading them to believe core drilling and damaged wires were what led to the fire.
Colorado Springs Utilities says to prevent something like this from happening in the future, is in pursuit of new technology, allowing crews to isolate damaged underground cable from the rest of the utility ecosystem, potentially preventing something like this happening in the future.
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