A transformer caught fire at a Puget Sound Energy substation in the Redmond area at midday Thursday

By Seattle Times

A transformer caught fire at a Puget Sound Energy substation in the Redmond area at midday Thursday, sending a tall plume of black smoke into the sky and causing 25,000 Puget Sound Energy customers to lose power.

Then late Thursday afternoon, the substation flared again for a couple of minutes. Redmond firefighters were keeping a water hose on the damaged transformer to keep it cool and prevent it from flaring up again, PSE spokeswoman Dorothy Bracken said.

There were no reports of injuries, PSE spokeswoman Allison Stanford said, and all power was restored by about 3 p.m. or shortly thereafter.