Editor’s Notre: This story was copublished by Inside Climate News and The Assembly.
RED SPRINGS — Early one evening this April, Kim Overstreet had just turned off the stove when she heard a boom. The panel box in the kitchen swung open and fuses shot out of their holders, bouncing off the fridge.
Less than a block away, Debra Duncan’s robot vacuum bolted off its charging station toward her, trailed by a blue flame…