The sky over St. Paul lit up blue and and explosions shook houses late Monday as a dangerous electrical surge caused power lines to fall and ignite a minivan.
Attempted theft of a copper cable at the former Sears parking lot caused the subsequent surge and power line failure on Western Avenue on both sides of Interstate-94, at St. Anthony and Concordia avenues, according to St. Paul Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith.
St. Paul residents reported seeing a blue light in the sky and hearing a buzzing sound before the blast around 10:15 p.m., which City Council Member Anika Bowie described on Facebook as an “extremely loud explosion that shook the Rondo area.”
According to Smith, the explosions were caused by the failing electrical transformers…