SALEM Outage leaves many in the dark

This is the second time this week that city residents have been without electricity.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- A primary power line that crossed South Ellsworth Avenue near Franklin Street snapped and fell onto the road, leaving hundreds of consumers without electricity.
The break occurred about 9 p.m. Tuesday, and power was not restored until about 4:55 a.m. today.
Nearly 370 residents and businesses were affected.
The outage affected customers supplied by the line and located north of East State Street along Jennings Avenue and Third and Fifth streets, explained LuAnn Koch, Ohio Edison area manager.
It appears the line was struck by lightning during a storm, weakening it and leading to Tuesday's break, Koch said.
Police closed South Ellsworth near Franklin Street for more than an hour while Ohio Edison crews removed the line from the street.
The line hit one parked car -- possibly two -- when it fell, police said.
At least one of the cars was damaged, but a police spokesman was uncertain of the extent.
Second outage: Tuesday was the second time in the last several days that power outages have affected Salem residents.
On Sunday, a malfunctioning transformer near Jennings Avenue caused more than 100 people living in that area to experience several power interruptions throughout the day. The longest outage was about an hour.
Power also went out again Monday before Ohio Edison crews replaced the transformer, Koch said.
Customers left without power by the malfunctioning transformer were not the same ones affected by the broken power line.