During the incident, a 138,000 volt coupling capacitor potential device failed, resulting in an arc flash, which in turn burned aluminum, lighting up the sky with a blue-green spectacle visible for miles around and as far as New Jersey.
The event was covered extensively on social media,[1] and LaGuardia Airport temporarily lost power, but there were neither deaths nor injuries.
[4][5] On the night of December 27, 2018, an electrical fault in voltage-monitoring equipment triggered a fire in the Astoria East substation on 20th Avenue and 32nd Street in Queens.
[5][6] While only part of a single section within the substation, it caused an intense blue light that could be seen for miles and lit up the night sky bright enough to resemble daytime—clearly visible across other boroughs and as far as New Jersey.
Due to the "apocalyptic" appearance of the aerial lights, some believed they were caused by an alien invasion or nuclear war.