A large American flag from WWE headquarters reportedly caused widespread power outages in Connecticut after a weekend storm. Officials say strong winds ripped the flag from the building, sending it into nearby power lines and leaving thousands without electricity.
According to the Stamford Advocate, strong winds tore a large American flag from WWE headquarters on Saturday night. The flag flew into nearby power lines, and it became tangled in high-voltage wires. The incident happened near Stamford Train Station.
Stamford Deputy Fire Chief Matt Palmer said that crews responded around 8:44 p.m. Firefighters arrived quickly. He said, “There’s very little we could do other than monitor it and notify utility companies.”
The WWE headquarters flag incident impacted nearly 40,000 customers
The flag created sparks after contacting the wires, and an initial fire was reported. However, the incident also caused nearly 5,000 Stamford customers to lose power immediately. Eversource restored power to about 3,000 customers within 20 minutes. The repair work continued through Sunday, but the situation got worse.
While crews worked to remove the flag, it shifted and made contact with an energized transmission line. According to Stamford utility spokesman Kaitlyn Woods, the incident affected more than 20,000 customers in Greenwich. It eventually impacted almost 40,000 customers total.
The outages also forced several road closures throughout Stamford. Police issued traffic updates as crews worked to restore service. Workers removed the damaged flag early Sunday morning. By Monday, Eversource had restored power to nearly all affected customers, bringing the unusual incident to a close.
The unusual incident caused major disruption across the area, but officials were able to safely resolve the situation.
Vince McMahon originally wanted the flag to serve as a symbol of patriotism
Vince McMahon had the flag, which measures 76 feet wide and 40 feet tall, installed on top of the new WWE Headquarters building in 2023. McMahon told FOX News that he wanted it to serve as a reminder of what it meant to the veterans who fought for the freedom of the United States.
“It’s one of the largest flags in the country and I think it’s a representation of how so many people feel about our country, he told Fox News Digital in 2023. “Not too many flags fly these days. And this is something that’s nonpolitical, simply the patriotism of what we stand for and what so many people in our country stand for. The size of it, I think, just represents how many people in our country love our armed forces, love what they have done, especially those who gave their lives.”
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