A wide part of central Ballina was blacked out for more than an hour Saturday evening after power cables caught alight on on Crane Street.

Eye witnesses described flames coming from the overhead lines, causing some concern for nearby homeowners initially.

Essential Energy said the fire, likely caused by the weather conditions, tripped the network and shut it down around 7.15pm.

Around 77 nearby homes and businesses were affected.

“Essential Energy crews responded immediately, replacing damaged equipment and restoring power to all customers by 8:30pm. The underlying fault, likely caused by the storm that swept through the area earlier that day, could not be located.,” a spokesman said.

Eyewitnesses say the fire brigade were first on the scene, moving quickly to provide a safe zone around the affected power lines.

Mark Ross, a bystander who captured these photos, praised the actions of the Ballina Brigade.

“They did a great job. I looked like those live power lines could have come down at any time,” he said.

The incident prompted a safety warning from Essential Energy to stay at least eight metres away from fallen powerlines or damaged electricity equipment. Incidents should be reported to Essential Energy immediately on 13 20 80, or if life-threatening, call triple-zero.