Jersey Shore Substation Fire Cuts Power To 24K Customers

WILDWOOD, NJ - A fire at a Jersey Shore substation knocked out power for over 24,000 customers in Wildwood on Friday ahead of a busy - and hot - summer weekend.

The substation fire at the Lake Avenue Substation in Wildwood was first reported at around 1:25 p.m. on Friday. Nearly a day later, over 7,800 homes and businesses were still without power, Atlantic City Electric said.

Power was restored for all affected customers by 6 a.m. Sunday, Atlantic City Electric said in a statement. Customers still experiencing outages are urged to call 800-833-7476.

The outage came during a scalding hot weekend at the shore, with high temperatures of 86 degrees recorded on Friday and 85 degrees on Saturday, according to Weather Underground. As a result, cooling stations were opened at the Wildwood Rec Center and the North Wildwood Community Center on Saturday.

The fire also impacted a busy weekend for summer tourism in the city, according to disgruntled tourists.

“Very f--ked up that the first time i go to wildwood this summer the entire island has a power outage,” one visitor wrote on Twitter.

Others, including seasonal employees, voiced their frustrations on social media:

“Re: wildwood power outage. i picked a great summer to get a job down the shore. currently down 3 shifts and counting,” another Twitter user wrote.

“We know that the outages caused by yesterday’s substation fire have been difficult for our customers and those visiting the Wildwood area,” Atlantic City Electric said in a statement Saturday. “Our crews are continuing work with urgency to restore service to the entire impacted area.”