Power restored to most customers in Hamilton

More than four hours after thousands of customers lost power in downtown Hamilton, most have it back.

The outage took place on one of the warmest days we’ve had so far this summer, leaving many hot, but most didn’t seem too bothered.

It’s the dog days of summer, and while one group of neighbours is spending time together outside, it started more by necessity than choice.

“Well, there’s no power in there and it’s hot in there so i came out to get some air,” says one woman.

Their apartment complex is part of the close to five thousand customers in downtown Hamilton who were without power since 4:30 pm Monday afternoon, just as people were done work for the day.

“Well it’s hot inside, and we’re hungry so we’ve decided to come down and talk instead, and be social.”

While some people are enjoying the power outage, others, not so much. At one major intersection, witnesses say two cars were involved in an accident after one failed to treat it like a four-way stop.

The power was out from Bay Street West to Haddon Avenue, and from Barton Street West to Hillcrest Avenue. Numerous traffic lights weren’t functioning and police had to direct motorists.

Hydro crews eventually isolated the cause of the outage, attributing it to an underground distribution problem.

Even though it was one of the hotter days of the year, this group of neighbours say being in the dark has overall had a bright side to it.

“Most of us didn’t get supper, but apart from that, it’s a good time to get together for talk anyway. It’s a beautiful night so we’re not complaining too much.”