MADISON, Wis. -- A fire under downtown streets kept emergency, fire and Madison Gas & Electric crews busy Monday afternoon.

An MG&E representative told News 3 the cause of the equipment failure that led to the fire and power outage will hopefully be known sometime today, but damage estimates aren't likely to be known for several weeks.

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Linda Eggert Reports From Downtown Fire Erupts A Second Time Downtown

Manhole covers reportedly blew off near Johnson Street, and the power was off on parts of State Street and the University of Wisconsin campus area for several hours after initial reports came in shortly before 3 p.m. Monday.

Many traffic lights were also not working properly, especially in the John Nolan Drive and Alliant Energy Center area, causing some streets to be closed for the Monday commute home.

"This is pretty crazy down here," said News 3's Linda Eggert at 4 p.m. Monday from State and Johnson streets, near the Overture Center. "There are sirens going off, but fortunately, no one has been hurt."

The fire blew smoke into some nearby businesses. Emergency crews cut off power to that area of the city to isolate the situation. MG&E officials said power the outage affected about 3,500 customers in the city's downtown.

Electricity was restored by 5 p.m. to all but two businesses, where exterior equipment had been damaged. However, power went out again around 9 p.m. Power is reportedly back on this morning.

The power outage and fire knocked Wisconsin Public Radio off the air for almost an hour Monday -- not just in Madison, but all 27 WPR stations statewide.

During the power outage, the station kept its statewide pledge drive going. About 10 volunteers taking calls from listeners kept right on working by candlelight because even in the dark, the phones kept working.

Public Radio Director Phil Corriveau told News 3 callers were positive and upbeat and eager to help out.

The owner of Fontana's said there were several surges before everything went black and smoke drifted into the store's basement.

"There was some white smoke coming out of the manhole, then all of sudden there was black smoke pouring out," Nicholas Bussian said.

Stillwater bar manager Michael Page said he saw lots of black smoke coming from underground.

"The fire trucks rolled in, and they came and pulled (the manhole cover) off just a little bit, and there was black smoke just billowing out of it," he said. "You could see some flames maybe half a foot high mixed in with the black smoke."

News 3 will have more information Tuesday.

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