A Fire at One of Puerto Rico's Main Power Plants Caused a Massive Outage

By Macy Daniela Martin

Published on 9/22/2016 at 11:05 AM

#ApagonPR Is this the reason as to why the whole island has no electricity? pic.twitter.com/uT7x11NQX7

— Gabriela Freiria (@AdaFreiria) September 21, 2016

The entire island of Puerto Rico lost power on Sept. 21 after a fire erupted at one of its main power plants. According to the Electric Power Authority, two 230,000-volt transmission lines failed, causing massive damage to the system, a large-scale blackout, and 15 additional fires across the US territory.

"This is a very serious event," Governor Alejandro García Padilla told the press before assuming responsibility for the outage. "The system is not designed to withstand a failure of this magnitude." Power is expected to be restored by Sept. 22 with priority being placed on hospitals, airports, police stations, and water plants.