Wildwood hit with power outages, could last overnight for many customers

A fire broke out at an electric substation in Wildwood on Friday and caused an islandwide power outage that could last overnight for many ahead of a busy summer weekend down the Shore.

The fire hit the substation at Oak and Susquehanna Avenues — officially known as the Lake Avenue Substation — just after noon, the Wildwood Fire Department reported. The subsequent outage lasted throughout the afternoon as temperatures reached the low 80s. No injuries or health-related emergencies due to the outage were immediately reported.

By 10:00 am Saturday morning, around 8,200 electric customers remained without power, according to Atlantic City Electric’s outage tracker — down substantially from a peak of more than 24,000. Because a “customer” includes places like hotels, many tens of thousands of people beyond the official number of utility customers were believed to have been impacted.

Atlantic City Electric said in a statement just before 6 p.m. that it expected about 15,000 customers to get power restored by late Friday night, “while outages for some will carry into tomorrow — we will communicate with those customers directly.”

The utility added: “Given the complicated nature of this damage, we are not able to provide an estimate on when service will be restored to the entire area. We understand how difficult it is to be without electric service, and we encourage you to take safety measures as we work to restore service.”

The city of Wildwood announced that the fireworks set for Friday night were rescheduled to Sunday night.

Ashly DiTonno, her husband and two sons, 10 and 7, had arrived in Wildwood from Paulsboro Friday afternoon hoping to visit Morey’s Piers ahead of a flag football tournament that starts Saturday.

But the park had shut down when the power went out shortly after noon — no rides were operating at the time — and the park would remain closed for the rest of the day, said Kyle Morey, one of the park’s managers.

”We got here early thinking they were going to beat the rush, so they’re pretty bummed,” DiTonno said. The kids spent the afternoon swimming, and then got pizza for dinner.

”Luckily I had stopped to get ice cream money,” DiTonno said, noting that the pizza place was cash-only due to the power outage.

Atlantic City Electric said the fire was contained in the early afternoon but the cause of the blaze remained under investigation. Photos circulating on social media showed smoke billowing from the Lake Avenue Substation on the central part of the island, and its shutdown immediately cut off electricity from North Wildwood down to Wildwood Crest.

On 26th Street in Wildwood Friday night, kids chased each other off the boardwalk, some by foot and others on scooter. Bicyclists rode by as the sun set. It was almost like a normal Friday summer night — except that the homes and motels on the street were all dark. Many passersby could be heard speculating about when the power would return.

The Ace’s Grill Dollar Hut on the boardwalk managed to stay open Friday with the help of a generator. Surrounded by closed businesses, the Dollar Hut was still busy around 10 p.m. as people walked by asking for water bottles, water ice — anything to stay cool.

Konidaris said he had never seen a power outage like this on the island.

“All these people walking the boards are hungry and thirsty, so we just figured we’d help out how we can,” he said. When the power shut off earlier on Friday, “we chose to keep our water ice frozen and water cold,” said counter manager Kaitlin Sullivan. “We’ve always been here for the community.”

Outside the Island Breeze Motel in North Wildwood, Samantha Heller and her friends were debating what to do. Earlier that evening, they drove in from Sea Isle City, hoping to spend an evening on the boardwalk, only to find stores and streetlights powerless: They hadn’t heard that the island was without power.

Outside the rental office, owner Mark Jones took a seat in a lawn chair. He and dozens of guests at the hotel were trying to make the best of things. It was important, he said, to be on hand to reassure worried guests.

As the sun set, Jones made sure rooms had solar-powered flashlights that he keeps on hand for emergencies, and kept the pool open later so guests could stay cool. He also had board games on hand to make up for the lack of WiFi.

Several doors down, Kenneth Marshall, of Mount Airy, relaxed with a beer in his hand. He and eight family members were staying at the Island Breeze for the weekend and had arrived to find much of the island powerless.

Still, they were determined to enjoy their vacation. They’d spent most of the day on the beach, and ordered pizza from a boardwalk shop with a gas-fired oven. Marshall had even managed to find an open beer store. “They didn’t have power, but the beer is still cold,” he said, laughing.

Marshall and his family plan to stay through Sunday, their original plans. “I’m hoping the power will come back on,” he said.

Jones said the city “has been doing a terrific job,” adding he was pleased to see that some houses and businesses had gotten power back.

The North Wildwood Police Department asked residents not to call emergency dispatchers for updates on power restoration and said that updates would be provided via social media.

The department added that a cooling center has been opened at the North Wildwood Community Center located at 900 Central Ave.