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SEATTLE — Seattle City Light says a problem with a switch in an underground electrical vault caused a power outage at the Seattle Center and surrounding neighborhood.

  

The lights went out for about 6,800 customers about 5 a.m. Thursday. City Light spokeswoman Suzanne Hartman says service was restored within an hour for most customers, but power remains out for the Seattle Center grounds and a few hundred customers nearby.

  

Spokesman Mike Eagan says service to the 156 remaining customers on Center grounds should be restored by 10 a.m.

  

The underground vault was next to McCaw Hall, home of the Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet, and firefighters responded to a report of smoke in an electrical room. They say restoring power to the Seattle Center is a delicate process.

“Multiple circuits are inside that vault and they all have to be de-energized before we allow employees into that vault to inspect and perform their work ,” said a Seattle City Light spokesman. “Something else could fail and someone could be at risk.”

  

The power outage also reportedly shut down the Seattle monorail and Center School, which has about 300 students. Classes at the Center School have been canceled Thursday.

The 10:45 a.m. performance at the Children’s Theater has also been canceled and The Children’s Museum and the Experience Music Project are also closed while Seattle City Light crews try to restore power.

The Center House is closed and plans to re-open sometime around noon.