Amid yesterday’s scorching heat, a Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) track fire in Hicksville suspended rush-hour train service on the railroad’s Port Jefferson line, the Hicksville Fire Department said.
A pile of wooden ties adjacent to the elevated tracks near Barclay Street and Woodbury Road began burning at about 6:30 p.m., said First Assistant Fire Chief Edward Korona.
The fire likely was ignited by sparks from a passing train, he said.
Firefighters, who could see the fire from the window of their department, waited for the railroad to confirm that service had been suspended, then raised a ladder truck bucket to extinguish the flames.
At 7 p.m., LIRR service was suspended in both directions on the Port Jefferson line between Hicksville and Huntington. Service was restored on one of two tracks at 7:35 p.m. and on the other at 7:50, said LIRR spokesman Sam Zambuto.
Trains were delayed by up to an hour on the Port Jefferson line and by 10 to 15 minutes on the Ronkonkoma line, the railroad said. Service was back on schedule by 9 p.m., Zambuto said.
Sporadic weather-related power outages continued in homes and business in the area yesterday. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) reported about 1,500 outages last night.
Metro-North Railroad said it was operating trains at reduced speeds because of the heat.
Outside Penn Station, Lisa Burke waited in a block-long taxi line rather than walk a half-mile to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
“If it were more pleasant, I would walk,” said Burke, of Oyster Bay. “I want to arrive at my destination looking cool and composed.”
This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.
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Service on the A train and along the Long Island Rail Road’s Far Rockaway branch has been restored after an earlier Long Island Power Authority power outage knocked out service to subways in the Rockaways and power to Long Island Rail Road signals, slowing several commuter trains running through that area.
At the height of the outage, more than 75,000 customers were without power, according to LIPA.
By 2:05 p.m., full power was restored to most of the affected areas, said Ed Dumas, LIPA’s vice president of communications. As of 4:20 p.m. about 80 outages remained.
As a result of the outages, the 1:05 p.m. LIRR train from Flatbush Avenue, scheduled to arrive in Far Rockaway at 2:03 p.m., was operating 20 minutes late. The 1:36 p.m. LIRR train from Far Rockaway, scheduled to arrive in Flatbush Avenue at 2:33 p.m., was operating 25 minutes late. Forty passengers were on the trains.
“LIPA experienced a transmission failure at a key substation in Valley Stream interrupting service to approximately 50,000 homes and businesses in Valley Stream, Cedarhurst, Inwood, Lawrence, Hewlett, Woodmere and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. Service crews were dispatched immediately”, read a notice posted on LIPA’s Web site.
On the subways, the MTA reported that because of a train with mechanical problems at the Broadway Junction station, Inwood-bound A trains were running local from the Euclid Avenue to Hoyt-Schermerhorn. Customers on the A should expect delays.
LIRR service through the Rockaways was back by 2:17 p.m. and subway service was restored around 2:42 p.m., according to the MTA’s Web site.
. Here are the respective stories for each incident starting with Tuesday’s track fire courtesy of 
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