Thousands of Lake County customers without power after Duke Energy substation fire

GRAND ISLAND — Fire at a Duke Power substation on State Road 44, believed to have been caused by a lightning strike, knocked out power to thousands of homes Sunday night.

Lake County firefighters were called to the scene near Apiary Road at 6:44 p.m. Units arrived 10 minutes later and began putting out the blaze. Firefighters were still putting water on the structure at 10 p.m. By 11 p.m., the fire had been extinguished, according to a statement on Duke Energy's website.

"The fire that occurred at a Duke Energy substation in Lake County has been extinguished," the statement says. "Our crews are onsite and working with fire rescue teams to fully assess the damage. We will begin making repairs as soon as it is safe to do so.

"Some customers have already been restored, and we will continue working through the night. We will provide estimated times of restoration for those still affected as soon as our assessment is complete. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your continued patience."

There were no injuries.

“Our crews are working hard to restore power as quickly as possible and provide assistance where needed by families impacted by the outages,” said Fire Chief Anthony Cuellar.

He urged motorists to stay clear of the area until emergency workers could complete their work.

Officials estimated that power would not be restored to about 10,000 customers in the Eustis area until Monday morning, weather permitting.

A nearby cell tower was also cut off, said Sarah Lux, county spokeswoman.

Power was also knocked out as far as the Haines Creek Road intersection in Leesburg.