When Rodents Run the Grid: A Wild and Dark Weekend In Missoula

Back in the early 2000's, our electricity got knocked off by a squirrel here in Great Falls.  I've always thought my husband didn't believe me when I told him what the power company said.  I got the feeling he thought I was lying.  Don't get me wrong, he never said, "You're lying", but I think you know what I mean.

I'm sharing that memory with you because of a story out of Missoula I found I wanted to share with you, and I just wish Dave was alive to see it, as well.

Squirrels Take Out The Power In Missoula

Turns out over the weekend, a squirrel took out the power in Missoula.  Not to everyone, but a pretty good chunk, 14,500 people.

The Missoulian reported that on Saturday morning, Sunday morning and Sunday night, the mischievous little creatures took down the power on Slant Streets, Rose Park areas, Riverfront neighborhoods and Franklin neighborhoods.

The owner of the restaurant Florabella, told the Missoulian that their power was knocked off several times over the weekend causing them to close on Saturday, Sunday night and Monday morning.  Northwestern Energy told them that a squirrel jumped and landed on a transformer in that area, blowing the transformer.

That blowing of the transformer was the exact thing that happened at my house here in Great Falls back in the day.

Read on: Remember The Squirrel Concert In Glacier Park?

Squirrels are a Leading Cause of Power Outages

From Transguard Solutions:

Squirrels

Responsible for the greatest number of substation outages across the U.S., squirrels enter substations in search of shelter and warmth—and possess the instinct to remember the best nesting sites. Their sheer numbers make them the greatest threat to substation security.

Who knew?  Now, all of us know, that's who.