The entire island of Kauai went dark Wednesday when a transformer failed at Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s Port Allen Generating Station.

The transformer failure, which occurred at 5:15 p.m., tripped generators, which caused the loss of power to all 24,000 Kauai Island Utility Cooperative customers.

Shelly Paik, a KIUC spokeswoman, said that a "flash" had occurred at the transformer, not a fire as some had reported. A flash is an electrical fault that causes arcing resembling lightning, she explained.

About 9:15 p.m., KIUC reported that electricity had been restored to 90 percent of the island.

Kauai County spokeswoman Sarah Blane said there were no major police- or fire-related problems due to the islandwide power outage, but all 29 traffic lights on the Garden Isle were out.

"Reportedly there some issues with police dispatch phone lines, but they were able to keep their 911 operations up and running," she said.

Department of Transportation spokesman Dan Meisenzahl said Kauai Airport has backup power, so airport operations were not affected and no flights have been delayed.

Social media kept Kauai residents informed while radio stations were down for a short period, Blane said.

At 8:26 p.m., KIUC reported that its largest unit remained down. Crews were working on the unit and estimated a 30-minute restoration time.