Nearly 2,000 Lose Power in Downtown Fort Wayne as Overnight Outage Hits West Central

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A late-night power outage left nearly 2,000 residents and businesses in downtown Fort Wayne without electricity, as Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) crews scrambled to restore service to the affected area.

West Central Goes Dark

The outage hit just before 10 p.m. Friday, targeting the city’s historic West Central neighborhood. Streetlights, homes, and small businesses all went dark in one of the city’s most densely populated downtown districts.

I&M confirmed that 1,965 customers lost service at the height of the disruption.

Fast Work, Long Night

While no official cause was initially released, I&M technicians worked through the night to resolve the issue.

By 2:30 a.m. Saturday, power had been fully restored.

An I&M spokesperson thanked residents for their patience and confirmed that crews had been dispatched within minutes of the outage being reported.

Here’s a look at the timeline:

What Customers Can Expect

While the cause was not publicly disclosed as of Saturday morning, I&M encouraged residents to check their outage map or sign up for alerts to stay informed on any future issues.

In the meantime, no follow-up repairs or rolling outages are expected.

Here are quick links for residents:

• I&M Outage Map: Check real-time outage status

• 21Alive News App: Get local alerts directly to your phone

• Streaming News: Watch 21Alive on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Apple TV

A Reminder to Prepare

Outages like this, while brief, can be a reminder to keep backup power essentials on hand—especially for West Central’s many small businesses and apartments.

• Portable phone chargers
• Flashlights and battery-powered lanterns
• Ice packs or coolers for short-term fridge outages
• Pre-set alerts via I&M’s app or website

Normal Service Resumes

As of sunrise Saturday, Fort Wayne’s downtown grid is back to normal—and for most, it was a short but inconvenient disruption to an otherwise warm and quiet summer night.