Some traffic lights and street lights remained out of service just north of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore early Sunday afternoon, nearly 24 hours after an underground fire shut down the area around 300 East Baltimore St.

Smoke was billowing out of manholes when crews from the Baltimore City Fire Department and Baltimore Gas and Electric responded around 3 p.m. Saturday, but it dissipated soon after, according to media reports.

The fire department on Sunday referred questions about the cause of the fire to BGE, which said it was under investigation.

BGE spokesperson Stephanie Weaver said in a statement around noon Sunday that “crews worked throughout the night due to widespread damage to the system.”

No injuries were reported in the fire.

The Baltimore City Department of Transportation said in a news release Sunday evening that two downtown streets remained closed due to fire-related repairs: Baltimore Street between Calvert and Holliday Streets, and Guilford Avenue between Fayette and Redwood Streets.

Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes.

Tiesha James, general manager of The Empanada Lady, told WJZ that the restaurant had a full staff at the time of the underground fire.

“I look up the block, and there’s black smoke everywhere,” James said.

She reported that, during the incident, TVs inside the restaurant and the Wi-Fi went out.

A busy Saturday full of excitement quickly turned into fear for James, especially when she learned the nearby fire could have been worse.

“We were told that right here, where we’re standing, that one of these manholes could blow off,” she said. “Nothing happened. Thank God.”

James said they conducted business as usual and kept customers away from the windows.

After a string of about 10 underground fires near Charles Street in Baltimore last fall, city officials said they were searching for answers.

The fires downtown were notably disruptive, shutting down businesses, creating traffic backups, knocking out internet service and putting people’s safety at risk.

About a month after the spate of fires, city officials maintained they had no idea what had caused them.

Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace told The Baltimore Banner at the time that the city hadn’t determined what sparked a September fire and might never do so.

Wallace cited the difficulty of investigating underground fires, which includes prohibitive laws and training requirements.

At the time, Mayor Brandon Scott said he had convened an “underground services work group” that included representatives of BGE, Comcast and Verizon, all of which have underground infrastructure.

BGE is responsible for capital improvements to the sections of the city conduit system that contain the company’s electric equipment.

Andrew Adeolu and Kaicey Baylor of WJZ and Banner reporter Lee Sanderlin contributed to this report. WJZ is a media partner of The Banner.