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Power goes out, comes back for much of Saranac Lake

Saranac Lake village police officer Reyanyn Brown directs traffic at the intersection of Main and River streets during a short power outage Friday afternoon. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

SARANAC LAKE — Electricity came back on less than an hour after it went out for much of this village Friday.

National Grid reported on its website that the power went out at 11:36 a.m. and affected 1,342 customers. It said the estimated restoration time was 2:45 p.m.. By 12:30, however, traffic lights came back on and various customers reported their power was restored.

The outage originated at a utility pole on Santanoni Avenue near North Country Community College, according to National Grid field workers and village police officer Reyanyn Brown.

A loud explosion accompanied the blackout.

“It sounded like a bomb going off,” Santanoni Avenue resident Jim Bishop said. “The birds scattered as if someone had taken a shotgun and started shooting at them.”

A Saranac Lake power outage Friday originated at this utility pole on Santanoni Avenue near North Country Community College. Conspicuous beneath the pole lies a dead raven with its body broken open and its feathers apparently burned. It could not be determined whether the bird had anything to do with the outage. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

The noise was heard throughout the village. From Edward Street, it sounded like a loud pop.

Conspicuous beneath the pole where the outage reportedly originated lay a dead raven with its body broken open and its feathers apparently burned. It could not be determined whether the bird had anything to do with the outage.

Power appeared to have gone out for the southeastern part of the village as well as some other areas. The stoplights on River Street were out — traffic became a little chaotic at those locations until police started directing traffic — but the one at Church and Main was working.

Some local businesses had to improvise to keep serving customers during the blackout. Coakley Home and Hardware on Lake Flower Avenue has no windows except in front, so the large store was dark. But office manager Amy McCarthy said employees with flashlights escorted customers around to help them find what they needed. Cashiers wrote sales details on paper and then entered them in the cash register when the power came back on.

National Grid had no other power outages in northern New York, according to its map. A company spokesperson could not immediately be reached.

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