VIDEO: A utility pole fire and potential natural gas leak in Bel Air caused power outages on New Year’s Eve, impacting businesses and leading to road closures. Bel Air police reported that a utility pole caught fire just before 3 p.m. Wednesday on Pennsylvania Avenue between Main Street and Hickory Avenue. Crews were still working in the area the next day, but traffic lights and power have been restored for most customers after the outages caused a surprise loss of business on a significant night.
Video posted to the Bel Air Police Department’s Facebook page showed sparks flying and flames shooting out of the utility pole. Paul Yosua, one of the owners of Das Bierhalle Bel Air, checked on the situation after receiving Snapchats of the burning pole.
Yosua said the fire was out when he arrived, but then, the power went out at his business shortly thereafter. “We had a full bar, and then, all of a sudden, everything just went, and we lost power to everything,” Yosua told WBAL-TV 11 News.
The Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company extinguished the fire, and Baltimore Gas and Electric crews turned off power for safety reasons, initially affecting only the immediate area.
