Most customers who lost power Monday night because of an underground vault fire should have their lights back on now.
Pacific Power said last night that about two dozen customers would remain in the dark overnight.
Officials say "customers" in this case represent meters, not people.
Tom Gauntt with Pacific Power said this morning 24 customers are still without power around the corner of NW 8th Ave. and Couch St., but that it should be restored later this morning.
Callers began reporting smoke coming from underground grates early Monday evening. The outage disrupted service on TriMet's Red and Blue MAX light rail lines and several bus lines serving the Pearl District and South Park Blocks in downtown Portland.
Portland Fire & Rescue extinguished the fire, but the utility shut off power to prevent further damage.
The outage closed many businesses Tuesday, including shops, bars, restaurants, a movie theater and Powell's Books, along with the main library branch.
Authorities have not said what caused the fire in the vault that contains electrical equipment. Pacific Power will be investigating the cause of the fire in conjunction with Portland fire bureau.
Contributing: The Associated Press
