Truck suspected in hit and run that caused fire, power outage

Blaine police are investigating after a vehicle collided with electrical equipment in the Cost Cutter plaza and left the scene without reporting the accident. The hit and run collision caused a fire and necessitated a temporary power outage to several businesses in the plaza.

On the morning of November 25, the city of Blaine’s public works department discovered a damaged transformer and junction box in the southeast corner of the Cost Cutter plaza. “Our operations supervisor saw that the street lights were out, notified the power crew and that got the ball rolling,” said Ravyn Whitewolf, the city of Blaine’s public works director.

The equipment had apparently been struck by a vehicle, and dual-wheel tire marks in the sod surrounding the equipment suggested that the culprit was a semi-truck trailer. Black scorch marks on the transformer also indicated that the transformer had caught fire following the collision.

City workers immediately took action due to the serious risk of electrocution. “We went ahead and initiated our response due to all the hazards that were present,” said Sam Castro, Blaine’s assistant public works director. “We could not leave it exposed. We felt it was an emergency.”

In order to repair the damaged equipment, workers had to shut off the power to several businesses in the plaza. Cost Cutter itself did not lose any power during the shutdown. The power was shut off around 8:30 a.m. and was restored at about 3 p.m.

City workers and a hired electrician de-energized the transformer, shutting down the primary power to it. They did this by disconnecting electrical wires housed in an underground vault near the transformer. The transformer was replaced with another transformer from the city’s inventory. The junction box, which controls lighting on Ludwick Avenue, also needed to be replaced.

The city filed a police report, and a Blaine officer came to the scene to investigate. “An officer went to see if there was any video footage to review,” the Blaine Police Department said in a statement on November 26. “At this time, it does not appear that there is. We have no new information at this time.”

Castro and Whitewolf said it was too early to provide an estimate of the cost of the hit and run to the city. In addition to the value of the equipment, the cost also included staff time. “It took our whole electric crew away from their work for an entire day,” said Whitewolf.

Castro was thankful that no members of the public touched the damaged equipment in the time before the city discovered it. “We are so fortunate that nobody touched the junction box or the transformer,” he said.