Traffic at the intersection slowed to a crawl shortly after noon as Alpena Township firefighters stood guard over a line they said fell unexpectedly from its connection at one utility pole.

The line sparked and jumped, burning holes into the pavement, firefighters at the scene said.

Alpena Township Fire Chief Mark Hansen said workers speculated the line may have been jarred loose during a recent crash that involved a nearby utility pole.

That damage, if it happened, went undiscovered until the line fell, landing along the edge of Bagley Street and partially across the entrance to the Meijer parking lot.

News File Photo An Alpena Power Co. worker hangs a new line after a power line fell near the intersection of M-32 and Bagley Street in Alpena in this October 2022 News archive photo.

Nobody was injured by the falling line, said Hansen, who had to shoo away drivers intent on getting through the entrance despite the downed line.

Police directed traffic at the intersection, where the traffic signals had lost power, while Alpena Power Company workers disabled the live wire and strung a new one.

Some eastbound drivers, hoping to avoid the snarl at the intersection by diverting into the Meijer lot, found themselves routed through several adjacent parking lots and back onto the road they had just left.

Multiple businesses in the area lost power, but the power company quickly rehung the line and returned traffic to its normal pace.

According to Alpena Power Company executives, the power outage impacted 159 customers along the M-32 corridor and on Bagley Street between M-32 and 3rd Avenue as well as 3rd Avenue west of Bagley.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Holes burned into pavement near the intersection of M-32 and Bagley Street in Alpena give evidence of the intense heat generated by a live power line that fell around noon on Thursday.

Thunder Bay Junior High School lost power briefly, Alpena Public Schools spokesman Lee Fitzpatrick said.

Crews restored service at about 12:50 p.m. after a 49-minute outage, the power company said.