Power has been successfully restored to nearly 10,000 homes following a fire at a substation in Grand Island, an unincorporated area of Lake County. The fire, reported at approximately 6:44 p.m. on Sunday, had caused significant power outages. Shortly after, a second fire was reported at a nearby cell phone tower. The city of Eustis commented that it may have been caused by a lightning strike.

Lake County Fire Rescue crews swiftly responded, arriving on scene by 6:54 p.m. Both fires have since been extinguished, and power restoration processes began immediately. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our partners at Duke Energy, power has been fully restored to all affected homes. The restoration was completed ahead of schedule, as power was initially anticipated to be restored by the morning of July 22, weather permitting.

Deputy Fire Chief Anthony Cuellar expressed gratitude to the community for their cooperation and patience during the incident. “Lake County Fire Rescue asks citizens to stay clear of the scene,” said Cuellar. “While our partners at Duke Energy work to restore power, LCFR will be ready to provide assistance where needed to families impacted by the outages.”

In response to the incident, the Lake County Emergency Operations Center was activated to a Level 2 and established a Citizens Information Line to keep residents informed.