Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Friday afternoon’s storm sent a tree into a power line on Oxford Drive at approximately 3:30 p.m. As the power line was forced down, one of the high-voltage wires appears to have snapped, landing behind shrubbery and generating smoke and sparks that followed as the downpour continued.

The sparking was audible. Red sparks could be seen emanating within the smoke, growing and receding every few seconds as if someone were adjusting the intensity of a light bulb. Winchester firefighters quickly arrived at the scene to monitor the situation and ensure that a fire did not break out.

“Basically, the wind blew a tree over and broke a live high-voltage line,” said Lt. Scottie Highley of the Winchester Fire Department. “The power company (LG&E and KU Energy LLC) arrived on the scene about 20 minutes ago [approximately 4:20 p.m.]”

The power company was able to cut the snapped line before the sparks could generate a fire.