Wires down on Route 114

The Shelter Island Fire and Police Departments responded to a report of downed wires on Route 114 at Winthrop Road about 7:40 a.m. Monday morning.

Traffic was blocked off at Bridge Street up to Winthrop Road.

Telephone wires, still attached to poles, lay snaked across Route 114 as it descended to Bridge Street. Wires carrying electricity were fallen and draped into woods west of Route 114.

The power in the lines was shut off shortly after the first reports came in.

At the scene, Fire Department Chief Will Anderson said the real concern when he arrived was the electric wires were “arcing,” there were flashes and “some loud pops and explosions.”

There was no damage and no fire, the chief said, probably because the woods and undergrowth were wet from last night’s rain and the cool, misty morning.

The chief wouldn’t hazard a guess on how the lines came down, since there was only a light wind. It could have been just age-related, he speculated, with the fixtures holding the wires to the poles giving way.