METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Power is getting restored across areas ravaged by Hurricane Ida.
For some, as quickly as the lights came on, they shut off because of another catastrophe.
Saturday night, power was knocked out at a portion of Magnolia Ridge Apartments in Metairie after a fire. A resident returned home to her apartment to see if she had power. As she did, she noticed smoke coming from another apartment.
The woman’s quick call to 911 prevented a major disaster.
“The firefighters got here within five minutes. There were no flames or damages to the entire building,” the woman said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but a woman who did not want to be identified shared a picture of a charred stove removed from one of the units. Those we talked to say investigators believe someone who evacuated left their stove on. When power was restored, it heated up and eventually caught fire.
“It’s so easy when power goes out during a hurricane and you just grab your stuff and leave. When you evacuate, you can forget the little things. It could have been worse. It could have been really bad and I’m just thankful that it’s not,” the woman said.