The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Power lines on utility poles near a border of the Village Plaza were set ablaze early in the morning of August 17 during a short thunderstorm.
The lines were located at the edge of a grassy field that separates the Village Plaza from the Somerset Diner parking lots.
Power to the main Village Plaza retail and office building went off at about 3:30 a.m.
There were several small but intense fires along the lines, which were splayed out on the wet grass.
The fires burned for about an hour before power to the lines was shut off by Public Service Electric & Gas.
Two dark trenches were left in the grass by the fires.
Firefighters from the Elizabeth Avenue Fire Company, which had been standing by with other departments from the township, then sprayed the smoldering lines with foam.
PSE&G restored power to the Plaza later in the day on August 17.
The Franklin reporter & Advocate live streamed the fire, it can be seen here.
