Traffic & Transit

Live Powerline Fell, Sparked Fire As Winds Whipped Through Annapolis

A live powerline fell and sparked a fire in Annapolis, police said. This temporarily slowed traffic on a windy Maryland day.

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The Annapolis Police Department said a live powerline fell Tuesday afternoon at West Street and Gibralter Avenue. A city police car is pictured above on a different day.
The Annapolis Police Department said a live powerline fell Tuesday afternoon at West Street and Gibralter Avenue. A city police car is pictured above on a different day. (Jacob Baumgart/Patch)

This story was last updated Tuesday at 6:33 p.m.

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A live powerline fell in Annapolis and caused a fire Tuesday afternoon. This forced city police to temporarily close a portion of West Street.

Officers announced the closure at 4:54 p.m. Twenty minutes later, authorities said a wire was on fire and a downed wire was on top of a fire truck. Police announced at 6:11 p.m. that the fire is out and that all roads are reopened.

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Officers said the wire fell on West Street at Gibralter Avenue. West Street was closed between Old Solomons Island Road and Hicks Avenue. Outbound traffic was diverted to Parole Street.

A few houses on Old Solomons Island Road lost power.

Find out what's happening in Annapolisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Winds whipped through Maryland all day. The National Weather Service called for gusts of up to 50 mph.

Related: 50MPH Wind Gusts Could Bring Power Outages In Maryland: NWS

This map shows the area where the road was closed.

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