PORTLAND, Ore. - A fire at a Pacific Power electrical substation ignited early Thursday morning, and fire crews contemplated cutting off power to the facility, a move that could black out a large part of Portland.

Crews raced to the Albina Substation in North Portland at about 3:30 a.m. and found it in flames. The substation is located near the base of the Fremont Bridge.

Fire crews were contemplating shutting down the substation, a move that Portland Fire and Rescue officials said could darken 25 percent of Portland if Pacific Power was not able to re-route the power.

However, Tom Gauntt with Pacific Power disputed the widespread outage warning, saying only about 1,900 customers were affected, mostly downtown and in the Pearl District.

Firefighters said Thursday afternoon that the cause of the fire was "accidental" and there was over $200,000 in damage. About 1,900 customers lost power early in the morning after an explosion was followed by a fire fed by insulating mineral oil.

Firefighters said battling blazes at electrical substations is very dangerous due to the high voltage present in the equipment, which can travel through water hoses, possibly electrocuting firefighters or damaging equipment.

Fire crews were pouring foam on the fire and appeared to have the blaze contained by about 6 a.m. Power was restored following the replacement of two transformers at the substation.