Underground electrical fire in downtown Little Rock impacts businesses

Little Rock, Arkansas – In Downtown Little Rock, Entergy crews were working underground on Thursday to repair damage caused by an electrical fire that occurred Wednesday night.

About 100 customers in the area of 6th and Main Streets lost power as a result. Within a few hours, firefighters and Entergy Arkansas restored the electricity, but not before interfering with a theater play taking place across the street.

The 300 audience members were getting ready to see a performance of Jitney, according to Will Trice, executive director of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, when his team observed smoke emerging from a sidewalk grate and dialed 911.

Ten minutes or so before the event was scheduled to begin, Trice stated, “we actually had started seating people for the show and then noticed some lights flickering.”

They evacuated the audience to the lobby. The show and a rehearsal for Hello Dolly’s premiere the following week were called off after thirty minutes.

Kacee Kirschvink, communications manager for Entergy Arkansas, reports that transformers were stored in an underground electrical vault that caught fire. Without delay, the power was turned off to stop the spread.

According to Kirschvink, “the system is designed to protect itself.” “Our system operates around the clock, but things will inevitably break. When this happens, we try our best to identify the issue, restore power to the customers, and then repair the damage.”

Kirschvink reported that by rerouting around the issue, power was entirely restored on Wednesday. Workers went into manholes on Thursday to repair damaged wiring. Entergy is currently looking into what started the fire.

Companies also want to get everything back to normal for their clients. In addition to providing refunds, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is contacting all impacted parties to inquire about possible rescheduling for this coming weekend.

“I believe that one of the best things about people in the theater industry is that we can roll with the punches and are always prepared for the unexpected,” Trice remarked.