From morning to night, a wild Tuesday in Seneca Falls

While most Seneca Falls residents were getting their day started on Tuesday, an unexpected power outage at 8:30 am left most of the Village without electricity.NYSEG’s Bob Pass confirmed that it was a pair of squirrels that were to blame for turning the lights out for thousands of electric customers in and around Seneca Falls. Downtown businesses saw power restored shortly before 11:00 am. For businesses and homeowners on the south side of Seneca Falls, specifically the Third Ward, the wait was up to 3 hours longer. Power was finally completely restored by 2:00 pm. But, not for long…Less than two hours later, a fierce thunderstorm hit northern Seneca County with high winds, frequent lightening, and torrential rains. Once again, power was lost for most residents and business in downtown Seneca Falls and the northern half of the Village.Finally, power was restored again shortly before 7:00 pm but the night wasn’t over just yet for local police, emergency personnel, and NYSEG crews.As the power was restored, an electrical surge caused a house fire near the Cayuga Street & Tyre Avenue intersection and, amazingly, just 200 yards away, a natural gas leak required an evacuation at another residence on Tyre Avenue. Both incidents occurred in the north end of the Village near Mynderse Academy.FingerLakes1.com will have more details on both of these incidents as information becomes available.