CAMBRIDGE (CBS) – A manhole fire forced the evacuation of Harvard Square Friday afternoon.

The fire department said the fire was near JFK Street and that all residents and businesses in the immediate area were forced out as a precaution.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Mark Katic reports

The fire was put out just before 1 p.m. No one was hurt.

Dept. Chief Frank Murphy says there are damaged cables, and NStar will have a difficult time fixing the problem.

“It’s occurring in the cables underneath a catch basin, which is not normal,” he said. “Some people
may not get their power back for a couple of days if they can’t make repairs today to that cable.”

Murphy says the department had to responded to a similar issue in the same spot a couple of weeks ago.