Robert L. Gould, a BGE spokesman, said crews hoped to have the fire out and equipment fixed today.
Cartwright said the affected stretch of Charles Street would be closed to traffic at least until midmorning today, when possibly one lane will open. He said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire.
In 2001, three 300-pound manhole covers near Pratt and Light streets blew 4 feet into the air early on a Saturday morning, causing no injuries.
Yesterday, restaurant workers along normally busy Charles Street were stuck inside their empty establishments, brooding over lost customers and canceled reservations.
At Mick O'Shea's pub at 328 N. Charles St., the street directly outside was busy with firefighters and fire engines. The manager, Laura Flanagan, estimated that business was down 50 percent, but those customers who made it in before the explosion were staying.
Anyone leaving had to hustle up an alley rather than through the front, she said, so "whoever made it in is kind of trapped."
At the Italian restaurant Sotta Sopra, waitress Natasha Kashevorava said that several patrons with reservations could not get there. She said Monday nights, typically slow for the restaurant business, are busy at Sotta Sopra because it offers bottles of wine at half-price.
"We usually get people walking in, but no walk-ins tonight," she said.
At Cazbar in the 300 block of N. Charles St., manager Turk Cantor said the injured woman was brought in by a bicyclist and treated for a small burn on her leg. "We gave her ice and water," Cantor said. Fire officials said she declined medical attention.
Cantor said that the explosion occurred after the lunch crowd had left and before the dinner patrons arrived. He said no customers were inside at the time, and none had come in since. "We are supposed to have dinner right now," he said at 7 p.m. "There is nothing we can do. The street is closed."
He said three of his employees left, leaving him with just one cook and two servers. "Even if we could open right now, we would be very limited," Turk said. "We cannot serve fully."
Gould, the BGE spokesman, said last night that the cause of the fire would not be known until firefighters could reach the blaze.
gus.sentementes@baltsun.com
Sun reporters Brent Jones, Annie Linskey and Justine Maki contributed to this article.
