Thousands Still Without Power After Back Bay Fire

Last night’s three-alarm fire that forced numerous evacuations, snarled evening rush hour, and left thousands without power (including yours truly) started in two transformers in a building adjacent to the Back Bay Hilton on Scotia Street. It is unclear how the fire started, according to Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department. The fire disrupted power service to 20,000, and NStar restored power to 7,000 by this morning. The remaining 13,000 will have power restored by tonight, according to NStar. Thankfully, no one was injured — and that rank smell of fumes throughout the Back Bay and South End isn’t toxic, after all. [Boston.com]