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Power Restored At Mercy Hospital After Transformer Gets Struck By Lightning

FORT SMITH (KFSM) – Power has been restored to patients at Mercy Hospital on Rogers Avenue after one of the facility’s transformers got struck by li...

FORT SMITH (KFSM) - Power has been restored to patients at Mercy Hospital on Rogers Avenue after one of the facility's transformers got struck by lightning Sunday night (July 5).

Natalie Hardin, the Director of Marketing and Communications for the hospital, told 5NEWS that lightning struck the transformer sometime between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, affecting patient areas within the facility. Hardin said she was not sure if any non-patient areas, such as administrative offices, were affected when the transformer went out.

A back-up generator then kicked in and provided power while crews with OG&E worked to replace the transformer.

It took crews about eight hours to get the transformer replaced and power restored, according to Hardin.

Mercy Hospital was not the only business that experienced a power outage during the storm. More than 1,000 homes and businesses across the River Valley remain in the dark Monday morning.

 

 

 

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