Forest fire causes power outage in Venezuela capital

A forest fire cut electricity to most of Caracas and officials were struggling to restore power to some areas Tuesday, 14 hours after the blackout began.The power outage paralyzed subway stations, forced workplaces to close, and created traffic jams. Downtown, workers idled in front of their office buildings while waiting for power to be restored, even as officials’ midday deadline to solve the problem passed.The blackout began late Monday after a fire destroyed transmission lines, according to Electricity Minister Jesse Chacon. Officials believe the fire was set intentionally.The fire still was burning Tuesday in the dry brush of Waraira Repano National Park, a half-hour drive north of downtown Caracas.