Most of county blacked out for an hour

A massive power failure affecting thousands of businesses and residences blacked out most of Marion County for almost exactly an hour early Thursday.

Customers receiving power from Evergy or city utilities using Evergy in Florence, Peabody, Marion, Hillsboro, Lehigh, and Tampa were without power from 1:52 a.m. until 2:51 a.m.

At least one Marion resident had to call for an ambulance after a vital oxygen supply failed during the blackout.

There was no immediate word from Evergy on the cause of the power failure.