EUGENE, Oregon - "It sounded like an explosion, like a bomb", said Bill Donlon. "The concussion could be felt". Donlon was nearby in downtown Eugene when the fire in the underground utility space shot the manhole cover far into the area in early Sunday afernoon.

When police and firefighters arrived, they blocked off streets.

It's not yet certain what caused the outage yesterday but is believed to be an equipment malfunction in an underground utility vault somewhere around 11th Avenue and Pearl Street.

Dark smoke flowed out of the hole and firefighters kept their distance until Eugene Water and Electric Board crews could turn off the power to most of downtown.

"Not like a heavy fire flame," said Caleb Mocabee, who witnessed the explosion of the manhole. "But like a gas flame covered up the hole, I mean 20 feet by 20 feet; it was a huge ball."

Firefighters put out the fire after power was turned off.

"I couldn't believe it," Mocabee said. "They had this black smoke coming up and people are still driving around it and over it."

Tthe fire was extinguished around 3:30 p.m. yesterday. Power was restored to most of the 30 square block area of downtown Eugene by early this morning.