Fire at TEP facility leaves thousands without power

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Nearly 5,000 customers are without power after a fire broke out at the TEP facility on East Irvington Road around 4:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

Tucson Fire confirmed that the fire is out and no injuries were reported.

According to TEP’s online outage map, most of the outages are on the south side.

TEP officials say the blaze started around 4:20 p.m. in one of two of the plant’s natural gas-fired steam generators. TEP said the next day other generating resources, including RICE units, at the building were not damaged.

If temperatures stay moderate, TEP says, the output of those units may not be missed as much as they would during hot weather, which typically drives up customer usage.

Video from the incident showed smoke pouring out of the building that afternoon. Tucson police said shortly before 5 p.m. the fire had been put out.

By 8:30 p.m., power had been restored to all customers, according to the map.

No injuries from the fire were reported.

This s a developing story. Check back for details.

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