Heathrow Airport in London is closed Friday after a fire at an electrical substation near the airport caused a power outage.

“Due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport, Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage,” the airport said in a statement on X. “To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March (8 p.m. ET Friday).”

A Heathrow Airport spokesperson told USA TODAY Friday that fire crews responded to the incident but there is no clarity on when power may be reliably restored. The spokesperson added that the airport expects significant disruption over the coming days.

“We will provide an update when more information on the resumption of operations is available,” Heathrow said in a statement. “We know this will be disappointing for passengers and we want to reassure that we are working as hard as possible to resolve the situation.”

Passengers were advised not to travel to the airport Friday and to contact their airline for more information.

Videos show full scope of fire, smoke in west London

Multiple videos captured by people in west London showed the full scope of the fire that shut down Heathrow and is also affecting a large number of homes and businesses in the area.

London Fire Brigade said a transformer within an electrical substation in Hayes in west London was on fire. Fire crews responded to the scene at about 11:23 p.m. local time on Thursday and are working to extinguish the fire through the night.

By 4:08 a.m. local time Friday, the London Fire Brigade said half of the transformer remained ignited. Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were responding to the incident.

Additional video Friday morning showed firefighters working on putting out the remnants of the blaze at the substation.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].