Nassau County, Florida. – Two utility workers were injured in an accident on a main power line at Fernandina Beach.
The accident knocked down power lines and left thousands of people living on Amelia Island without electricity for hours.
It happened near the Thomas J. Shave Jr. Bridge. Around 4:30 pm
Electricity returned to Amelia Island later around 8 PM, but for hours the entire area was in darkness.
Representatives directed traffic because traffic lights were closed and gas stations empty.
More than 16,000 of Florida’s 29,000 public utility customers were affected by the blackout on Monday.
“We had no idea what was happening so we just took out the old oil lamps and sat in the dark for a while,” said resident Mike Mette.
Emergency managers said power lines were broken by mistake and two workers suffered electrical burns.
Madeleine Pedraza lives with the Metis family and says she was at work when the accident happened.
“The lights went out but we had internet and suddenly we saw a cloud of fog or smoke that filled the streets. It was like fog and we heard a noise like a siren so we thought it was a plant.”
After nearly three and a half hours in the dark, the Mitti family was relieved to regain their strength.
News4Jax has contacted the Nassau County Emergency Department about the workers’ condition.
They said one worker had third-degree burns and the other worker had first and second degree burns.
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