By Jerry W. Jackson and Doris Bloodsworth | Sentinel Staff writers
Posted July 17, 2002, 12:29 PM EDT

Epcot will remain closed today because of an early morning electrical breaker fire in a back stage area but the park is expected to reopen on schedule Thursday morning, Disney spokeswoman Diane Ledder said.

There were no injuries and no appreciable structural damage, Ledder said. The cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Power was lost at Epcot and the nearby Caribbean Beach Resort and the air conditioning was lost at the nearby Beach Club Villas.

Most of the power had been restored to Epcot and the resorts by midday, Ledder said, but repairs to equipment and the process of restoring full power could take all day.

Because the fire occurred at about 3 a.m. and no guests were in the park no evacuation was necessary.

"It was never a safety issue. No guests were ever in danger," Ledder said.

"If you ever had a time for something like this to happen, this was a better time, between 3:30 and 5 (a.m.)."

With Epcot closed for the day, Disney said it would extend operations at the Magic Kingdom by one hour tonight, closing at 11 p.m., and extend operations at MGM Studios by one hour, closing at 10 p.m.

Some of Epcot's 4,000 employees who reported to work early were deployed elsewhere on Disney property, Ledder said, and will be paid, while most employees were told not to report in for the day and will not be paid.

Ledder said the only other times she could recall that Epcot was closed was on Sept. 11 after the terrorist attacks and in September 1999 when Hurricane Floyd threatened the state.

Reedy Creek Assistant Fire Chief Bo Jones said his agency responded about 3 a.m. to the fire in the electrical generation building that provides service for Epcot.

"From our standpoint, there was lots of smoke, little fire," Jones said.
Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel

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