A fire in electrical equipment prompted the Harris nuclear plant in North Carolina to declare an emergency Saturday, but no flames were found when firefighters arrived.Duke Energy reported that it declared an alert at 10:16 a.m. after smoke was detected. Operators shut the reactor down, while on-site firefighters and off-site crews responded. The plant cancelled the emergency declaration at 3:51 p.m. after an inspection showed that the affected equipment posed no threat to the reactor. In a release, Duke said the event did not pose a danger to the public. The utility plans to restart the plant as soon as damaged equipment is restored.A Duke spokeswoman told the Raleigh News & Observer that the smoke originated from an overheated transformer.The plant's operating status and event reports related to the alert were unavailable on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's website Monday because of the federal holiday. According to the NRC, Harris operates a single Westinghouse three-loop pressurized water reactor near Raleigh that was first licensed in 1986.
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