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Downed Power Lines Spark Domino Effect Of Damage

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LAUDERDALE LAKES (CBSMiami) – Even though South Florida was spared the brunt of Hurricane Matthew, the storm left behind plenty of power outages in its wake including Friday when some power lines came down in Lauderdale Lakes and sparked a domino effect of damage.

According to Mike Jachles with Broward Fire Rescue, a downed power line sparked several small fires and also set a backyard shed on fire in the 3400 block of NW 37th Avenue.

"What we had here was a chain reaction," said Jachles. "A power line came down and started a shed fire. Then there were backyard fires and that also energized a cable line. At least five homes had smoke in their homes. And then a cable box blew."

"It was just 'boom', like really loud," said Mica Compere, who said she actually heard two explosions. "Some of our lights were flickering on and off, so we had to go make sure everything was okay."

That's when Mica and her sister noticed smoke and fire.

"In the power line, there was an explosion," she said. "And the smoke was rising from the other house and there was just fire on the back gate."

Neighbor Tiara Gibson was babysitting when she heard the blast.

"And we see blue, like it was lightning in the back. But it was the power lines. I guess the trees made it catch on fire," she said. "I was babysitting and the children started crying. I thought we were all going to catch on fire."

Though no one was hurt, the incident left the neighborhood block confused as six homes are now without power.

Jachles told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that while it is unknown if this incident was related to Hurricane Matthew, it was a reminder that there are hazards out there that everyone should be aware of.

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