An early Wednesday morning utility pole fire severely damaged a Comcast fiber optic line causing internet outages for customers in La Grange Park, La Grange, and other nearby areas.
According to La Grange Park fire officials, the fire was on a utility pole in the 1000 block of Sherwood Road. Firefighters responded to a call at 6:09 a.m. and found the top of the pole snapped off, hanging by wires, and on fire.
A news release said that both homes on either side of the pole were evacuated. Firefighters then worked to protect the homes. Firefighters applied water to brush and groundcover beneath the pole, and to the roof of one of the homes where burning embers were dropping.
ComEd was contacted for assistance, the release said. Crews from ComEd arrived quickly and had to de-energize the power line and equipment involved in the fire before firefighters could completely extinguish it.
Once the fire was out, residents were allowed to return to their homes, according to the release. There were no injuries reported and no apparent damage to the homes.
Officials believe the damage and fire to the pole was most likely weather-related, the release said.
The damaged fiber optic line also affected Voice over Internet Phone (VoIP) systems at the Village of La Grange Park, and with other users, the release said. A Comcast representative on the scene said that most likely 30,000-40,000 users were affected by the damage, according to the release.
Several utility crews were on the scene working to repair the damage and most service was restored by early afternoon, the release said.
