At around 1:00pm on Thursday, a Firefighters in downtown Casper sprang into action after smoke was seen coming from the Casper Business Center. Only 20 minutes before a major power outage also hit Casper, effecting nearly 26,000 customers according to Rocky Mountain Power. This left traffic lights out as first responders and civilians tried to navigate busy downtown streets.
First responders on scene confirmed they were battling a structure fire in the Business Center, which they say was likely caused by backup generators starting up during the outage. By 1:40pm the fire had been contained.
At the same time, not far east of Casper, another fire was ongoing at the Dave Johnston Power Plant near Glenrock. Your Wyoming Link spoke with Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh over the phone. He said that the Dave Johnston fire began after the power outages. The power plant had been evacuated using standard emergency procedures and was quickly contained.
Rumor spread that the fire at the Dave Johnston Power Plant in Glenrock may have caused the fire, this information was also included in but later removed from a Facebook post by the Natrona County Fire District. The Dave Johnston Power Plant declined to comment on the incident.
