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Power Restored To Minneapolis Downtown After Electrical Fire

MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — Several blocks of downtown Minneapolis have power back after a brief interruption following an electrical fire at one building.

Friday morning's outage happened in the wake of a fire in an electrical vault at the US West building near midnight. Xcel Energy workers had to "deenergize" several nearby blocks as workers tackled that.

Power was restored about 8 a.m., nearly two hours after it went off, Xcel spokesman Tom Hoen said.

The area was east of the heart of downtown. Among the affected buildings were the Pillsbury Center and the Star Tribune.

City officials said that most traffic signals in the area functioning normally, but that some are flashing red. Drivers are asked to be patient while crews re-set the affected lights.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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