Power failure, fire hit Washington rush-hour traffic

A widespread power failure and subway fire left Washington, DC dark and snarled traffic during the morning rush hour on Friday, power and transit officials said.

The Department of Homeland Security said there appeared to be no link to terrorism.

Pepco officials were investigating why a power substation failed at 10th Street at about 7.30am, leaving about 7 500 customers in the dark, Pepco spokesperson Rhonda Ellis said.

Emergency crews had extinguished a fire near the Dupont Circle subway stop, said a spokesperson with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

“It is not yet known if the power problem and the fire are related,” spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said in a recorded message.

The power failure darkened traffic lights downtown. Pedestrians screamed at cars to stop and let the elderly cross the streets.

The White House was running on back-up power, a spokesperson said.

WMATA said there had also been reports of smoke at the downtown Metro Centre stop, and several other downtown stops were without power, Metro said.—Reuters