Underground Blaze in Downtown D.C. Ties Up Traffic

A failure in an underground electrical line sent smoke billowing into the air near Farragut Square in downtown Washington this afternoon, clogging rush hour traffic and prompting evacuation of an office building.

Authorities said some of the smoke from the failure appeared to enter the building at 910 17th Street NW, triggering the evacuation. A spokesman for Pepco said the incident was apparently caused by the failure of a splice in a high voltage feeder cable inside a manhole. Service was not affected, he said.

Witnesses interviewed this evening said smoke billowed from gratings in the sidewalk on the southwest side of Farragut Square about 4:30 p.m. Traffic around the square was slowed as fire trucks and other rescue equipment arrived at the scene, near one entrance to the Farragut West Metrorail station.

On Sunday night smoke was reported coming from another manhole, about two blocks away on Jackson Place NW, at Lafayette Square. The Pepco spokesman said water apparently entered the manhole and shut down a cable inside.