Story perspectives

Storm-Toppled 40-Foot Flag Sparks 40,000-Customer Outage

6/8/2026

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Summary

Flag Hits Tower

A thunderstorm loosened the 40-foot WWE flag, which struck a transmission tower and cut power to 5,000 Stamford and Greenwich customers.
Eversource restored service to 3,000 customers within 20 minutes while a gust during Sunday removal shifted the flag onto a second live line, expanding the outage to 40,000 customers.
The outage caused delays, blackouts, an Amtrak train delay, and prompted firefighters to extinguish a fire sparked by the flag.

Summary

Eversource Outage

The Saturday night outage strained restaurants, retailers and offices, risking spoiled food and lost sales.
Eversource said over 10,000 customers lost power statewide, surpassing the Stamford-Greenwich count.
Wind gusts hit 53 mph at Groton-New London, 52 mph in New Britain and 66 mph in New Jersey.
Officials urged residents to monitor Eversource updates, treat traffic lights as stops, and call 911 or police 203-622-8007 for aid while forecasters expect sunny 80-degree weather through Thursday.

History

Historical Context

The August 14, 2003 Northeast blackout, triggered by a tree-contact on FirstEnergy’s 345 kV line and a failed alarm system, left about 55 million U.S. and Canadian customers without power. That cascade exposed grid fragility, prompting the Northeast Power Coordinating Council and NYISO to tighten vegetation management—precautions now invoked after Eversource’s 2024 Stamford-Greenwich outage.

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Flag Hits Tower

A thunderstorm loosened the 40-foot WWE flag, which struck a transmission tower and cut power to 5,000 Stamford and Greenwich customers.
Eversource restored service to 3,000 customers within 20 minutes while a gust during Sunday removal shifted the flag onto a second live line, expanding the outage to 40,000 customers.
The outage caused delays, blackouts, an Amtrak train delay, and prompted firefighters to extinguish a fire sparked by the flag.

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