4/30/2026 Attempted copper theft leads to electrical surge, fire in St. Paul
St. Paul fire officials say a fire and reports of an explosion Sunday night appear to have started when someone attempted to steal copper cable.
There were no reports of injuries from the incident that knocked out power to the area just before 11 p.m., and produced flashes of light that could be seen from much of the city.
According to the St. Paul Fire Department, “apparent attempts to steal copper cable in an electrical vault” near the former Sears store, a block from the Minnesota Capitol, caused an electrical surge.
That surge then caused power lines to fail and fall along Western Avenue on either side of Interstate 94. The lines fell onto a minivan and started it on fire.
Fire crews extinguished the fire once Xcel Energy confirmed that power had been cut to that area.
St. Paul City Council member Anika Bowie posted on social media that she heard an “extremely loud explosion” that shook the Rondo neighborhood.
Xcel Energy said the incident — which remains under investigation — caused a power outage for about 400 customers in the area.
“Our crews responded quickly to the site to assess the issue and have since restored power to most of the affected customers. They are continuing to conduct repairs this morning to restore power for the remaining 74 customers,” Xcel said in a statement on Monday.
The St. Paul Police Department said it also continues to investigate the cause of the fire, which it said damaged multiple vehicles. As of midday Monday, authorities had not reported any arrests in connection with the incident.
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