SCARBOROUGH (May 19, 2005): An equipment failure caused a widespread power outage in Scarborough on Friday the 13th, shutting down traffic lights at busy intersections and interrupting electrical and Internet service for about 1,900 homes and businesses.
According to Central Maine Power spokeswoman Gail Rice, the outage, which lasted from about 10 a.m. to about 11 a.m., was caused by an equipment failure in a substation that took out two circuits.
Police scrambled to direct traffic at intersections all along Route 1, Gorham Road and Payne Road, and the Scarborough Fire-Police were also called out. But only one Scarborough fire-policeman responded, so Cape Elizabeth sent its fire-police unit to help as well.
The police department used its Code Red reverse-911 calling system to alert residents to the situation, and to ask people to drive carefully, especially through busy intersections.