Utility Pole Fire Closes Mamaroneck Road in Scarsdale

The following account and photos were contributed by Sharon Dizenhuz:
(Updated 8 am on April 4, 2024) A raging electrical fire Wednesday afternoon April 3, 2024 brought traffic to a standstill on the corner of Griffen Avenue in Scarsdale at the junction where Mamaroneck Road becomes Old White Plains Road.  The blaze began after 4:30 in the minutes after what appeared to be a tree or a utility pole fell across Mamaroneck road. Cars wisely chose not to drive under the space below the fallen pole, turning around on Mamaroneck Road. We were among them, and just as we were about to call 911, we saw a Scarsdale fire truck with flashing lights heading towards the scene, so we held off.

It is unclear if that truck actually stayed at the scene. In the time it took to get on the Hutchinson Parkway to exit 11 and approach the intersection from Griffen, the toppled tree had become a blazing inferno, with flames reaching 10 feet or so across and 6-8 feet high. The acrid smell of electrical fire filled the air, as did gray clouds of smoke.

Mamaroneck cops held the barrier just before Carriage House Lane on Griffen. A  patrolman on duty said he was not aware of the origin of the blaze, indicating that with the high water table in the area, trees often fall on power lines when there is a lot of rain. There is a transformer at the intersection of Griffen Avenue and Mamaroneck Road, but it is on the opposite side of the street to where the blaze was visible from Griffen. It was not clear if there were two fires or one.  Mamaroneck police secured Griffen because it seemed that the fire was just a few feet into their jurisdiction. The patrolman on duty stated that he was expecting that the Mamaroneck Fire Department would be “rolling in any minute.”  I was unable to see if Scarsdale Police or the Fire Department were on the scene at the Scarsdale side of the blaze. Homes in the area lost power.

Rain and high winds continued throughout the day and night. As of 8 am on April 4, Scarsdale Police reported the following road closures due to downed trees/wires: Mamaroneck Road between Barker Lane and Griffen Ave, Morris Lane between Heathcote Road and Richbell Road, Sprague Road at the Border of New Rochelle, and Oxford Road between Cambridge Road and Park Road.

As of the morning of April 4, many are without power. including residents around Mamaroneck Road near the site of the fire.  See the Con Ed map here to report an outage and to see the estimated restoration time.

Griffen Avenue closed later due to flooding.