Power Failure Leaves Washington, D.C. in the Dark

Two fires along Metro's Red Line and a power outage through much of Washington's center city this morning left commuters stranded, offices and tourist attractions dark and street traffic in chaos.

Three pedestrians were struck and injured by cars that were navigating busy streets without benefit of traffic signals, D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter said. Traffic signals were out in an area spanning roughly 30 blocks, from shortly after 7 a.m. until about 10:30 a.m. D.C. traffic operations crews in lime-green vests directed cars through some, but not all, key intersections.