A power outage Monday night in West Fargo left a major business corridor in the dark for more than two hours.
More than 2,500 customers were without power after 7:50 p.m. The affected area stretched west from 45th Street to Sheyenne Street and extended from 13th Avenue South to Seventh Avenue North.
Walmart on 13th Avenue, normally open 24 hours a day, was turning cars away as they drove into the parking lot. Just down the street at Lowe's, it was business as usual thanks to the store's large generators.
Other merchants stayed open even in the dark but were accepting only cash or checks because the registers were down. As the sun set, many business began sending employees home.
Crews worked to restore power and determined a failed underground cable was to blame for the outage, said Bonnie Lund, an Xcel Energy spokeswoman.
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West Fargo police conducted traffic control at several intersections. Officer Miles Orth said there were no major problems associated with the outage.
Power was restored to homes and stores around 10 p.m.
