Houston Chronicle:
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...widespread power failures were reported late Friday and firefighters battled wind-driven blazes that spread among four downtown structures.The Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said late Friday that CenterPoint Energy in Galveston County reported 90,000 customers had lost power. Sporadic power failures were expected throughout the night, CenterPoint reported.
The fire erupted in a building at Postoffice and 19th downtown and quickly spread as high winds blew cinders from building to building.
A fallen electric pole was lying on one of the buildings and was burning.
"We had to specifically place the lines to use the wind to our advantage to fight the fire," Fire Chief Michael Varela said today. "It was like a war zone, shooting fire across the street."
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One of the buildings that caught fire was built in 1905, five years after the hurricane that destroyed most of Galveston and killed at least 6,000 people.
Elsewhere on the island, the Galveston County Daily News, located on the bayfront, reported early today that its main facility lost part of its roof. The downtown power grid was shut down because of the fires.
Mayor Pro Tem Joe Jaworski told the paper that a wall of Yaga's restaurant collapsed but that no one was hurt.
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