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Grid infrastructureUnited StatesEIR-1392

Substation fire leaves hundreds without power in Hayden

Oct 2022Published 28 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantThermal / fireProvisional
Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?
Figure hidden: shown to subscribersMedium confidence
supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate
From the recordRoot cause hiddenFailed part hidden
Where
Substation at County Road 600 W and County Road 100 N, northeastern Hayden
Operator
Jackson County REMC
What
Substation fire on 12 October 2022
Cause
Catastrophic fault inside the transformer
Outcome
Transformer and regulators damaged beyond repair

Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Jackson County REMC

What happened

A power substation at the corner of County Road 600 W and County Road 100 N in northeastern Hayden caught fire on 12 October 2022. Jackson County REMC was alerted by its SCADA system that the substation had gone out at 5 p.m., and reports that it was on fire followed about 20 minutes later. Spencer Township Fire Department attended but did not apply water because of the electrical hazard, and watched until the fire burned itself out after just over two hours.

About 1,850 people were without power. Power was restored to about 950 services around 6:20 p.m.; the remaining services were restored just after 9 p.m. once the area was safe. The transformer, voltage regulators, some metering equipment and associated switches were reported damaged beyond repair, with normal operation of the substation expected to take several weeks.

Contributing factors

Jackson County REMC said it believed a catastrophic fault inside the transformer released oil, which an electrical arc then ignited. It said the cause was unlikely to be known for certain because of the fire damage. The utility said this substation had not caused a problem in the past. How long the fire had been burning before it was reported was not known.

Lessons learned

  1. SCADA alerts enable rapid detection of substation faults.
  2. Fire services may elect to monitor rather than suppress oil-filled transformer fires when water presents an electrical hazard.
  3. Pre-planned feeder transfers to neighbouring substations limit the duration of customer outages.

More lessons on detection and monitoring, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

  • Exact initial cause of the fault
  • How long the fire burned before detection
  • Cost of the damage and replacement

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

madisoncourier.com

Published 2026-09-28. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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