PORTLAND, Maine — An underground fire led to manhole covers exploding into the sky on Fore Street in Portland, but firefighters say there’s no need to worry.
Two men were eating lunch around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, when they saw smoke and heard a loud bang. Then, the men say a manhole cover went flying about twenty feet up into the air.
Firefighters say an electrical fire is to blame and Central Maine Power Co. officials are trying to figure out what went wrong.
Witnesses say they and others driving near the blasts were stunned.
“I didn’t really know what was going on. I actually thought maybe it was coming from a vehicle until I looked out the window and saw another explosion from a manhole cover,” witness Matthew Larrabee said.
Alec Bubier, another witness, added: “It was pretty close to the sidewalk and [people] were still driving by, they’re driving right over it and they didn’t know what to do either.”
No one was hurt but it did lead to some power outages.