Tree knocks out power to 6,000 homes in Saugus

SAUGUS – Around 6,000 homes lost power Wednesday night after a tree fell on power lines on Denver Street.National Grid spokeswoman Jackie Barry said the outage occurred at around 5:45 p.m., with power being restored shortly after 7 p.m.?There were two problems that caused this outage,” said Barry. “There was a tree on lines on Denver Street and also a fault somewhere on a main line that feeds Saugus, and crews are still trying to locate that ? but they were able to restore everybody through switching.”Barry said the tree likely came down from either Wednesday?s Nor?easter or was “loosened” during Hurricane Sandy.Acting Department of Public Works Director James Waugh said areas around Lincoln Avenue, Hamilton Street and Central Street were most affected.?National Grid sent crews out right away when I contacted them,” said Waugh. “It looks like it?s starting to come back on slowly.”Library Director Diane Wallace tweeted at around 6:45 p.m. that the library was closing because it lost power.?Power outage in Saugus,” she said. “We need to close. Hope to see you tomorrow. Be safe.”But even without power, residents took to Twitter almost immediately.?The power just went out in like half the mall ?. There?s like no power in half of Saugus,” said one Twitter user.?Saugus always loses power,” griped another.Several residents also reported hearing or seeing a transformer explode on Denver Street.?I think something blew up because most of Saugus is out of power,” said one resident. “Stay safe.”?Daughter said she saw a flash around Essex/Vine, Saugus, we heard a big zap?transformer?” tweeted another.Barry said any explosion was the result of the fuse blowing on the line or the tree coming in contact with the lines.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].