An explosion and a fire at a Westar Energy substation knocked out power for a large portion of South Salina on Friday morning. It happened at around 7:15, at the Westar Energy Southgate Substation at the corner of Wayne Avenue and Huntington Road.

A neighbor told KSAL News at the scene that there was an explosion that was so violent it shook his house. Following the explosion, there was a large fire and thick black smoke coming from inside the fenced-in substation.

Multiple Westar Energy Crews and first responders quickly rushed to the scene. Firefighters could not initially do anything abut the fire because of the dangerous electricity.

Crews worked quickly to reroute all of the power through other substations. Within about an hour, nearly all power was restored.