More than 7,000 customers in southern Durham lost electricity Tuesday night after a strong line of storms moved through, and a fallen tree appears to have turned a wet-weather scare into a neighborhood-wide blackout. The outage was resolved, but the cause was initially unclear as crews assessed the damage.
The outage began around 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, when a tree fell near N.C. Highway 54 and Garrett Road, according to WRAL News. The storm line crossed Durham County while a flood advisory remained in effect for part of the county until 11 p.m., adding flooded roads and downed vegetation to the evening's problems.
Power failures like this can seem mysterious from the curb, especially when the rain has already moved on. In a recent explainer, Duke Energy said restoration begins with damage assessment before crews work through transmission lines, substations and neighborhood circuits.
By the time WRAL updated its report, a Duke Energy spokesperson said the outage had been resolved. The utility described the incident as vegetation-related, pointing to the fallen tree as the immediate link between Tuesday's storms and the blackout, the station reported.
Another Major South Durham Outage This Summer
Tuesday night's outage also came barely a month after a much larger South Durham blackout. On July 1, ABC11 reported that more than 25,000 Duke Energy customers lost power after a tree fell onto transmission lines near the Durham County line.
For residents still dealing with storm debris, Duke Energy advises treating every downed or sagging power line as energized and staying away from trees or branches touching electrical equipment. The company also recommends reporting hazards directly to the utility rather than approaching the scene.
