FAIRFIELD — A power line on U.S. Route 201 caught fire Thursday night, causing a power outage that left almost 600 households without electricity for an hour.

According to the Fairfield Fire Department, the fire occurred about 6:20 p.m. on an electrical pole near the Interstate 95 interchange, causing a power outage that affected mainly downtown residents.

A Central Maine Power Co. dispatcher said Thursday that the fire might have been caused when water got into cracked insulators on the line, starting the fire.

The insulators may have cracked over the winter, the dispatcher added.

On its website, CMP reported that 580 customers lost power in the brief outage.

Electrical crews were able to restore power by 7:46 p.m., according to CMP.