Downed Power Line Sparks Brush Fire in Vestal

Vestal firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze in a wooded area that was ignited by an electric line that fell when a tree limb was blown down.

The trouble occurred on Parkwood Road just off the Vestal Parkway in the western section of the town around noon Thursday. The downed power line sparked a small fire just east of the parking lot of Mapes Auctioneers and Appraisers.

A NYSEG crew was sent to the scene to turn off the power to the line that fell. Firefighters then were able to extinguish the blaze.

According to the utility's website, nearly 50 customers on Parkwood Road, Butternut Drive and Seymour Road were without electricity after the incident.

A short time later, gusty winds took down a tree and power lines a short distance away. Fire police directed traffic around the scene near Tracy Creek Road and Crumm Road until NYSEG workers were able to make repairs.

More than 2,000 NYSEG customers across Broome and Tioga counties were reported to be without electric service as of 2:30 p.m. Most of the outages were believed to be wind-related.