By Karen Middleton
More than 250 residences and businesses found themselves without power at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after a sanitation truck backed into a guy wire.
Athens Utilities General Manager Gary Scroggins said the garbage truck backed into the guy wire at an auto parts store off South Jefferson Street, north of Sanderfer Road.
“The pole moved, causing the wire to sag,” said Scroggins.
He said the sagging wire connected with another wire behind Kentucky Fried Chicken at U.S. 72 and Jefferson Street.
“The lines burned, shorting out the line which tripped the substation,” said Scroggins.
Scroggins estimates that 250 businesses and homes were without power for up to an hour.
“We were able to isolate the part north of 72 and they were back up in a little while — about a half hour — while those along South Jefferson Street were out for an hour,” he said.
Most traffic lights in the downtown area were out as well during morning rush hour. Motorists approached the unlit intersections like four-way stops to keep traffic moving.
