Thousands of Kent residents were without power for about an hour this afternoon after a recloser malfunctioned on a pole near the intersection of Harvey and Lake streets.

According to a spokesperson for Ohio Edison, 2,700 customers in the north part of Kent lost power from 1:26 to 2:19 p.m. The recloser, a circuit breaker for electrical lines, was most likely damaged from lightning during last night’s thunderstorm.

City and campus police directed traffic along Main Street during the blackout. While traffic was backed up from all directions, the Kent Police Department said no accidents occurred as a result.

Minor power outages occurred around Northeast Ohio today, according to a map on Ohio Edison’s Web site.