A transformer exploded at Hoover Dam on Tuesday, creating a thick cloud of black smoke and flames that were quickly extinguished. According to authorities, no one was injured and electricity continued to flow from one of the nation’s largest hydroelectric facilities.
According to Jacklynn L. Gould, the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s regional director for the Lower Colorado Region, “there is no risk to the power grid.” She said the fire started around 10 a.m. and was extinguished within a half-hour.
Hoover Dam, located about 25 miles (40 kilometres) southeast of Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona border, is a popular tourist destination, and some of the visitors captured the scene on video and quickly shared it on social media.
William Herro, 13, of San Francisco, was with his parents on a viewing bridge when he saw the explosion and then heard a “big boom.”
“A massive amount of black smoke has just exploded in the air. It resembled a mushroom, and then a fire broke out “Herro posted a TikTok video of the incident on his cellphone. “I was taken aback and began filming.”
According to the postings, the explosion occurred at a building just downstream of the dam’s base. The complex is located in the Colorado River’s Black Canyon.
The cause of the fire is being investigated, and it is unclear how extensive the transformer damage was.
At 726 feet, the dam is the second tallest in the United States, according to the Bureau of Reclamation (221 meters). Each of its 17 generators has the capacity to power 100,000 homes.
Every day, up to 20,000 vehicles pass through the wide top of the dam, which is a National Historic Landmark.