FAIRBURY - A handful of businesses on the northern edge of Fairbury were left at least partially without power for a few hours Wednesday afternoon, thanks largely to weather and eventual wear and tear of a power line.

Alerted that a business was partially without power, City of Fairbury workers were called to inspect and repair a power line off of Highway 136 on Wednesday afternoon.


First arriving to the scene around noon, initial responders noticed the building - the former bank that's now the site of the Livingston corporate offices on the corner of K Street and 136 - smelled like propane.

"That's why the fire department and the gas company came out, and that's why the sheriff and them were here too," one of the linemen on scene reported Wednesday.

The responders cleared the Livingston building of any further issue, and the fire crews left the scene. Once that was resolved, the rest of the crew got to work replacing wires and installing a new transformer in the power line behind that main plaza, which knocked out power and disrupted the operations of at least three local businesses, including Splash and Dash car wash and Prellwitz Exteriors, for about four hours before the issue was eventually resolved late Wednesday afternoon.

"The wire up there is so old that over time, the weathering and everything like that just gets to it. It’s been cold, and all the frost builds up and there’s moisture in it, so when it thaws out it kind of traps, and it can burn up," said the lineman, who was elevated up to the top of the power line to examine and repair the wires for the better part of an hour before the rest of the crew arrived with reinforcements and a new transformer. 

Prellwitz operates on a different type of connection, he said, so their issue was a separate one and there was no risk of burning or any other serious issue.

"We got a digger truck coming in to finish things off. Me and another bucket guy will get up there – we'll have to communicate to make sure everything gets on there right," he said around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. "And then we have hot phases up here, so we’ll have to put some more guts up so it doesn’t get into everything. I wouldn't be surprised if it lasts another hour or two."