Manhole Explosions Close Mass. Registry Offices

The Registry of Motor Vehicles has been forced to close all 35 of its branches statewide because of a series of manhole explosions in Boston's Theater District that knocked out power to their computer servers.

Registry spokeswoman Ann Dufresne said the offices would be closed Monday because of the outage at the State Transportation Building. Online services also have been affected.

Power was restored just before 11 a.m. after being out for about five hours.

The explosions Monday morning knocked out power to traffic lights and to some buildings and closed several streets.

Firefighters started to evacuate an area hotel that had smoke in the basement, but guests and workers were allowed back in after it was deemed safe.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.