Crime & Safety
Squirrel Thought To Be Cause of Large Power Outage
PG&E says it sometimes sees similar wildlife-related outages in more rural areas of the state.
A squirrel was the culprit behind a power outage that affected more than 11,000 PG&E customers in Walnut Creek and Lafayette Friday morning, according to a utility spokeswoman.
Power has been restored to all 11,562 customers who lost service around 7:45 a.m., PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian said. More than 8,000 customers in the area were without power for about an hour Friday morning, according to utility representatives.
Sarkissian said the outage was apparently caused by a squirrel in Walnut Creek that came into contact with a piece of electrical equipment connected to a bank of transformers.
PG&E sometimes sees similar wildlife-related outages in more rural areas of the state, where the utility has programs in place to prevent animals from disrupting electrical equipment, she said.
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