Oregon Public Broadcasting

Earlier this month an electrical fire broke out at a Hanford nuclear power plant in southcentral Washington. That fire is now the subject of a federal investigation, as Correspondent Anna King reports.

The fire happened August fifth at the Columbia Generating Station. And since then its owner Energy Northwest has been looking into what caused the electrical wires to arc.

Now the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is coming to the site near Richland, Washington to conduct a special investigation.

The commission wants to make sure this type of fire doesn't happen again.

Gary Miller, spokesman for Energy Northwest, says the company still doesn't know what caused the fire, but says safety at the nuclear plant is the top concern.

Gary Miller: “We will get back online, but we are going to make sure we do it in a safe and orderly manner.”

Energy Northwest produces roughly enough electricity to power the city of Seattle. It's been off line since the fire.

That's costing the Bonneville Power Administration about $900,000 a day.