Transformer explosion and fire reported at Hoover Dam
(NewsNation) — A transformer explosion at the Hoover Dam Tuesday caused a fire, a source confirmed to NewsNation affiliate KLAS.
Boulder City Fire Department said they extinguished the fire and no injuries have been reported.
Video captured by Twitter user Kristy Hairston shows a small section of the concrete arch-gravity dam engulfed in a dark smog with embers flaring beneath.
Located in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, the incident reportedly took place just after 10 a.m. before tourists took notice and started pulling their phones out to record.
While there is no significant damage reported to the dam thus far, there remains cause for high alarm as the Hoover Dam — which formed Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States — generates power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Check back here as the story is updated.