.@CBCNews I swear in this one.
— mike amsterdam (@plutoisnumber9) May 1, 2017
This was 20 seconds after first explosion. I had just walked across those grates. pic.twitter.com/MoJj4Aa10w
A stretch of King St W through Toronto's financial district is expected to remain closed for much of Tuesday.
The area was jolted by a series of explosions just after 5 p.m. Monday that sent putrid brown smoke billowing up from sewer grates. Though the blasts startled downtown workers and pedestrians, sending them running no one was hurt.
King St remains closed between Bay St and Yonge St.
Toronto Fire Service Chief Matthew Pegg said this was the results of a hydro vault that had caught fire.
The blaze knocked out power to the Royal Bank Tower, the only building to go dark. It was also evacuated as a precaution.
Hayley Cooper/NEWSTALK 1010
Efforts to restore power have been hampered by lingering hotspots.
At about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday a specialized team with Toronto Hydro was underground, mapping out the task at hand when the hydro vault began filling with smoke. Firefighters weren't satisfied it was safe for hydro workers to get back to work until about 8:30 a.m.
Now, hydro crews are replacing a blown transformer in an effort to get the lights back on.
KING ST W - #TorontoFire crew will remain on scene while #Toronto Hydro crews repair the vault pic.twitter.com/sSiYypzDau
— Toronto Fire Service (@Toronto_Fire) May 2, 2017
Firefighters and Toronto Hydro says there is a "strong possibility" the fire and explosions were brought on by Monday's heavy rain which poured into the underground vault.
Toronto Hydro argues its equipment could be brand new but it still wouldn't withstand a flood.
Yesterday's ltorrential downpour likely overwhelmed the sump-pump, flooding the vault. "Sometimes we will go out and do some spot checks on different vaults, ones that we may know is retaining water or things like that, to be prepared. Generally speaking, we don't have a lot of notice for these weather events, either," explains Brian Buchan with Toronto Hydro.
The vaults do not have sensors that could give off an alert if one is taking on too much water. "There are sensors to indicate whether there's a fire or power quality issue but, in terms of the water itself, I am not aware of any sensors that exist," he adds.
Toronto Hydro does regular maintenance checks on its vaults every 2-3 years.