http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/13/AR2008061301257.html?hpid=topnewsTwo fires along Metro's Red Line and a power outage through much of the center city this morning left commuters stranded, offices and tourist attractions dark and street traffic in chaos.
Three pedestrians were struck and injured by cars that were navigating busy streets without benefit of traffic signals, D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter said. Traffic signals were out in an area spanning roughly 30 blocks from shortly after 7 a.m. until about 10:30, and D.C. traffic operations crews in lime-green vests directed cars through some, but not all, key intersections.
Meanwhile, fires broke out at 7:30 a.m. and 9:50 a.m. on the tracks near the busy Metro Center station. Officials said equipment that regulates power to the track overheated, causing insulation to smolder. In each instance, trains in both directions had to share a single track, causing significant delays through the heart of downtown. Metro Center was closed at 9:52, although trains continued to pass through the station.
The 3 1/2-hour power outage cut electricity to scores of office buildings, as well as the Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Farragut West, McPherson Square and Shaw-Howard stations. Farecard machines, turnstiles, escalators and elevators were not working because of the power outage, and the Dupont Circle station was shut down for an hour after medics treated a dozen people for shortness of breath after they trudged up that station's particularly steep escalators. The station has the longest climb in the city, and the ascent left many winded. One man was taken to the hospital after his internal defibrillator triggered.
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