What caused the power outage that left thousands in Ames without power?

Thousands of Ames residents woke up without power Thursday morning.

Starting around 4 a.m., just over 2,000 people began to lose power while a thunderstorm poured down on Ames. As the morning went on, there were around 4,000 affected users, according to the city of Ames Electric Services.

Power was restored for residents by 6:30 a.m.

Lightning was the culprit of the brief outage in Ames, said Curt Zierke, the electric distribution manager for the city of Ames. The lightning struck an electric pole on Mortensen Street and Hayward Avenue. The city has a substation next to the pole, so the lightning surged through it and took out a fuse. Maintenance for the outage took roughly an hour

Some of the affected residential areas are around West Mortensen Road and Wilmoth Avenue.

Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Power is back on in Ames. What caused the morning power outage?