SEE IT: Hoover Dam transformer bursts into flames

Victor I. Nava

July 20, 03:55 AM July 20, 03:55 AM

A transformer caught hearth at the foundation of Hoover Dam on Tuesday, but the incident did not disrupt energy getting produced at the facility and no one was hurt.

The hearth and apparent explosion at the base of the 726-foot-significant hydroelectric electric power building facility was caught on online video by visitors who shared footage on the blaze on social media. The fireplace was extinguished roughly 30 minutes following the blast and posed no risk to the electrical power grid, in accordance to officers.

"At somewhere around 10 a.m. (PDT) the A5 transformer at Hoover Dam caught hearth and was extinguished by the Reclamation/Hoover fire brigade at roughly 10:30 a.m.," Jacklynn Gould, regional director for the Bureau of Reclamation, stated in a assertion.

"There are no accidents to visitors or staff. There is no chance to the electrical power grid and electrical power is nevertheless staying produced from the powerhouse. We are investigating the bring about of the fireplace and will deliver supplemental updates as they are available," Gould's statement concluded.

Video clip footage of the incident exhibit a fireplace and black billowing smoke increasing from a single of the dam's transformers around where by the Colorado River flows into the dam.

Holidaymakers viewing the facility situated on the Arizona and Colorado border explained they listened to an alarm seem and felt the floor rumble beneath them, according to the Associated Push.

“A ton of black smoke just exploded in the air. It seemed virtually like a mushroom and then a fire followed,” William Herro, 13, of San Francisco, informed the Related Press.

Hoover Dam began working in 1935. The facility is recognized as a Countrywide Historic Landmark, and it gives ability to 8 million men and women in Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California. The substantial dam is operated and managed by the Bureau of Reclamation.