By Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN WEST — An early-morning manhole fire sent thick black smoke into the air above 42nd Street Thursday, shutting a lane of traffic between Ninth and 10th avenues, fire officials said.
An underground circuit breaker caught fire around 6 a.m., causing smoke to pour from a manhole near Ninth Avenue, a Con Edison spokesperson said.
There were no power outages as a result of the blaze, and workers were expected to remain at the scene to repair electrical equipment for a few hours following the fire, the spokesperson added.
Most of the businesses on the block were not yet open at the time of the incident, and residents there reported no outages or other issues as a result of the blaze.
The street reopened to traffic about two hours after the fire started.
The fire comes just two days after a pair of manholes exploded on the Upper East Side, knocking out power to half a dozen buildings on 79th Street. Power was restored 10 hours later.
