SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Power has been restored in a South Florida neighborhood after, officials said, a pole landed on top of a homeowner’s property, causing a small outage.
The power lines went down near the home, along 2800 Southwest 67th Avenue, Friday afternoon.
7Skyforce HD hovered over the scene as Florida Power and Light and Miami-Dade Police assessed the situation.
“We heard a loud explosion,” said one person who lives nearby.
FPL crews worked to remove the pole and have a replacement on hand.
Officials blocked off the southbound lane on 67th Avenue while crews worked to restore power.
7News sources said that two elderly people were trapped inside the house but were later seen on the porch.
Caller Stephanie Ortiz said they were inside the house when they heard a crack. When she looked outside, she said she saw the pole was down. She also saw the lines down on the house.
“This is my father-in-law’s house behind me where the pole fell,” said one man on scene. “I live there with him. He’s a hemophiliac, and I also have my wife’s great-grandfather, who also has a medical condition, and my three children.”
He said that this situation could have been avoided. “We have called about this pole for several years,” he said. “And FPL has kind of given us the go-around.”
“This is a late call,” said another resident. “This was a death about to happen with that post that fell over that gentleman’s house.”
According to FPL, 63 customers were affected.
It is unknown why the pole collapsed. The wires have been de-energized and are not live.
FPL released a statement, Friday evening that reads in part, “The pole was reported as damaged after Hurricane Irma and was in the queue to be replaced very soon. We take the safety of our infrastructure seriously, and conduct routine inspections of our poles to ensure their safety.”
No injuries were reported.
Just before 11 p.m., FPL confirmed power had been restored to all customers.
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