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Commuters can expect a smooth ride into work and school today

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Couple apprehended in connection with West Hazleton church burglary

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Residents of parts of Lockhart and Barney streets were without power on Sunday night because of a blown fuse that resulted in a transformer catching on fire, officials said.</p><p>Residents stepped out of their homes to see flames coming from the top of a utility pole at about 6:30 p.m.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre Assistant Fire Chief Edward Snarski confirmed an outage affecting &#8220;the second block of Lockhart Street and the first block of Barney.&#8221;</p><p>PPL Electric Utilities arrived at the scene at about 7:15 p.m, making their way to the top of the pole to begin extinguishing the fire, and then determine the nature and extent of the damage.</p><p>According to both Snarski and Luzerne County 911, similar incidents had been reported throughout the area because of high winds.</p><p>&#8220;PPL had said they were pretty overwhelmed with weather related incidents,&#8221; said Snarski.</p><p>He anticipated that the outage would be resolved by Sunday evening.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Wilkes-Barre Fire Department works the scene of a transformer fire on Lockhart Street in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011116PoleFire2.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Wilkes-Barre Fire Department works the scene of a transformer fire on Lockhart Street in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday night. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011116PoleFire1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A PPL employee extinguishes a transformer that caught fire on Lockhart Street in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday night. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL011116PoleFire1.jpg</photo1><caption1>A PPL employee extinguishes a transformer that caught fire on Lockhart Street in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday night. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Weather-related incidents cause power outages in Wilkes-Barre, other areas