Squirrel Causes Power Outage for Thousands

Talk about a pest problem — a squirrel caused a power outage for 3,214 PG&E customers in Newark Thursday morning, according to a PG&E spokesperson.

The outage was first reported around 7:31 a.m. near Central Avenue, said PG&E spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian. By 8 a.m., 189 customers were still affected.

All but three households were still without power as of 10:50 a.m., but Sarkissian said it is expected they will have power back within the hour.

PG&E does put tools in place to prevent squirrels from going onto the power lines, but animals going onto lines does happen occassionally, Sarkissian said.

Residents told Newark Patch that the outage stretched from Graham Elementary School to Smith Avenue and that the stoplight at Cherry Street and Smith Avenue is out.

One Newark resident said police were in the Cherry Street and Smith Avenue area around 8:40 a.m. A representative with the Newark Police Department said officers responded to the area to a report of an injury but that the area was cleared by 9:08 a.m.