LONDON -- A cable fire under the pavement in central London led to 2,000 people being evacuated from workplaces and nearby buildings Wednesday.
London Fire Brigade said smoke was seen emerging from under the pavement in Holborn prompting them to raise the alarm and evacuate people from the area.
A major incident was declared by police and people were being told to avoid the area.
“Crews are currently working to prevent the spread of the fire to surrounding buildings. We are working closely with the various electricity companies involved to identify the source and extent of the fire which is underground. As this is likely to be an electrical fire we have to ensure the power is off before we apply water to extinguish it," London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Peter Cowup said in a statement.
“We are working with our partners and implementing well-rehearsed plans to prevent the fire from spreading and to protect surrounding properties.”
At around 8pm local time, firefighters said they had the fire under control but they were staying at the scene to monitor. Kingsway is expected to remain closed until Thursday.
Crews are expected to be at the #holbornfire into the night damping down. More here:http://t.co/axJDMMpDpe pic.twitter.com/RDnn2wX42Y— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) April 1, 2015
Large parts of the city were without power because of the fire, this view from the London Eye shows the extent of the outage.
The area affected by the #Holborn power cut... pic.twitter.com/KRyIEfATJT— Mike Wooldridge (@mdw1989) April 1, 2015
There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is not yet known.
Drama in Kingsway A video posted by Jasper Manchipp (@jmanchipp) on Apr 1, 2015 at 7:02am PDT
During the afternoon, the Fire Brigade had a 25-metre cordon is in place. People were tweeting photos from the scene outside their workplaces.
Another shot of the Holborn Fire, it’s literally coming up out of the drains #Kingsway pic.twitter.com/DSVBP1BS7M— Iain B (@IBwan) April 1, 2015
So this is happening just outside my office! #kingsway #holborn #london #fire pic.twitter.com/Ywy97tnrjA— Martin Dyan (@MartinDyan) April 1, 2015
Photos from #kingsway #holborn. Underground fire.. Pretty dramatic scenes. pic.twitter.com/q7RNjjrA4J— Beth Bridewell (@ohmyitsbetty) April 1, 2015
The fire could be seen from as far away as Victoria.
You can see the Holborn fire all the way from Victoria where we are. #HolbornFire pic.twitter.com/au2XOWWWU7— William Bleeker (@billythebrit) April 1, 2015
Holborn Underground Station was closed following the incident.
Holborn Fire Update (cont.)- Kingsway also remains closed s/bound at j/w High Holborn, with q's on diversion on High Holborn at present.— TfL Traffic News (@TfLTrafficNews) April 1, 2015
Crowds tried to leave the area.
Crowd at the Holborn fire. #kingsway pic.twitter.com/BsVs0IGK3N— Claire Barthelemy (@cbtly) April 1, 2015
The Law Society, the London School of Economics and Somerset House were all hit by power outages.
Chancery Lane power cut and evacuation. Apologies if you are trying to reach us. Stand by for updates.— The Law Society (@TheLawSociety) April 1, 2015
How's that for April Fool? Local fire by the Peacock Theatre = Power cut + Full evacuation. pic.twitter.com/aPRzCu5vF5— LSE_ID (@LSE_ID) April 1, 2015
Due to a fire in Holborn we are currently without power and our phones are down so please bear with us— Somerset House (@SomersetHouse) April 1, 2015
Several shows in the Westend were forced to cancel their evening performances.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, tonight's performance at Lyceum Theatre, London is canceled. More info at http://t.co/27M79hKCGh— The Lion King (@TheLionKing) April 1, 2015
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this evening’s show (01/04/15) has been cancelled. Please contact your point of purchase for a refund.— Beautiful Musical (@BeautifulInLDN) April 1, 2015