Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Thunder
LG,
What you saw is whats called an "automatic re-closer", a device that is on primary power lines designed to re-energize a circuit automatically when it detects an interuption or fault. It generally tries for 3 resets before remaining open for manual reset. It's a basic circuit breaker that resets itself if the reason for the fault has cleared. Often times a branch will fall onto two of the phases and short them out. The resulting short makes a large arc of blue and yellow that is magnified by the precipitation (moisture) in the sky and is often mistaken for lightning. Many times, the burning of 13K to 23K volts will destroy the branch and the circuit can reset itself with out having to wait for the power company to respond. From the sound of what you describe the circuit remained open and the power comapny energized it from a different source 30 minutes later.
BT
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That would explain why the lights went off twice for 3-5 seconds each, before finally switching off and staying off. I always wondered what made that happen. Wreaks havok with anything computerized, interrupts any auto-rebooting a couple of times and causes those devices to require manual reboot when the power comes back. Emphasizes the importance of battery backup systems for webcams and such. Even the cheaper variety will at least carry a computer through those 2 initial power interruptions before the permanent outage hits.