Firefighters fight power pole fire in Visalia alley

A power pole with downed power lines caught fire in a Visalia alley near an apartment complex early Tuesday morning, the Visalia Fire Department said.

Firefighters were dispatched to an alley between Santa Fe and Bridge streets, south of Noble Avenue, around 12:38 p.m. and found a power pole on fire with downed power lines arcing near a two-story apartment complex and carport, Battalion Chief Ray Ramirez said. The flames quickly spread to a trash dumpster, a wood fence and grass in the backyard of an adjacent property.

Fire crews extinguished the flames on the power pole and stopped the spread of fire to the apartment complex and carport, Ramirez said. Firefighters then extinguished the flames from the wood fence, grass and shed in the backyard of the adjacent property.

Residents in the area lost power for around an hour until crews from Southern California Edison could restore it, Ramirez said. The fire caused an estimated $10,000 in damages to power equipment and property.

A specific cause for the fire was undetermined, but investigators believe it could be due to a malfunction of the power pole equipment, Ramirez said. A total of 13 units responded to the fire including three engines, one truck and one battalion chief.

This story was originally published July 19, 2016 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Firefighters fight power pole fire in Visalia alley."