Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Large Fire Breaks Out at Redmond Power Substation

The blaze was fueled by 15,000 gallons of mineral oil, according to Puget Sound Energy.

Fire and utility crews responded Thursday afternoon to a large transformer fire at a power substation in Redmond that belched thick, black smoke that could be seen from as far away as Seattle about 15 miles away.

The blaze, reported at 12:30 p.m., knocked out power to 25,000 customers in Redmond, Kirkland and Woodinville, according to a spokeswoman for Puget Sound Energy. It was extinguished at approximately 2:15 p.m., and all power was restored by 3:15 p.m.

No injuries were reported in the fire at the substation at Willows Road N.E.

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PSE spokeswoman Martha Monfried said 15,000 gallons of mineral oil that fill the 10-year-old transformer were burning, but the utility didn't believe it was hazardous. Two other transformers were shut down as a precaution.

"In the last 40 years, we've never had anything like this happen," Monfried said. "It's fairly unusual."

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The oil is used to cool the voltage that comes through the transformer, she said.

PSE brought an environmental crew to the scene. Monfried said it's too soon to say what sparked the blaze.

Redmond firefighters were first to respond to a report of an explosion, said city fire spokesman Jim Bove. They had to call in a fire truck with foam from the Port of Seattle because water wasn’t putting out the flames. PSE could not confirm that an explosion took place.

Bove said no one was on site at the time of the fire. Nearby buildings weren't evacuated, but some businesses shut down because they lost power.

Nothing criminal is suspected, but "we'll be investigating just to be sure," Bove said.

Bove said some traffic signals were without power in Redmond, including one at the main intersection of 148th Avenue and Redmond Way. Traffic backed up considerably for about an hour.

Clark Masterson, who works near the substation, said he went to a Subway sandwich shop on Willows Road for lunch at 12:20 p.m. and saw flames 30 to 40 feet high.

“We could see them over the trees,” he said.


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