- Matthew Olearczyk, a program manager with the Electric Power Research Institute, explains that typically a squirrel will cause a blackout by scampering across electrical equipment and touching simultaneously both an energized component, like one of the cylindrical transformers at the top of a utility pole, and a grounded piece of equipment. The squirrel completes the circuit, generating an arc. There is an instantaneous flash of blue light. At its center is the squirrel, combusting. (In one news story, the squirrel was said to make a “popping sound” when it ignited.)
Oh dear... Thank goodness Koalas are too lazy to do too much damage. I've been trying to find similar instances of this happening Down Under, but if it is occurring, there doesn't appear to be much news coverage of it. We certainly don't seem to have a Wikipedia page dedicated to the phenomenon!Some utilities have installed the kind of plastic owl used to keep pigeons off building facades. However, an industry study notes, “one utility reported that the fake owl was attacked by a hawk which in turn caused a substation outage.”
Squirrels took out our phone line at my first apartment. Wild animals gotta do what wild animals gotta do. It amuses me that we think they should be able to tell what's safe to step on, like squirrel mothers teach squirrel babies the basics of electrical circuitry, so they don't go out and fry themselves on telephone poles.