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According to FirstEnergy spokesperson Todd Meyer, around 5,000 people were left without power on Thursday morning after a squirrel found itself on energized equipment near the Westfall substation in downtown Montreal. Altoona.
“He’s a late squirrel now, unfortunately,” Meyer said.
At around 9 a.m., the squirrel entered the substation where its body touched one wire and its tail touched another, causing the blackout, Meyer said. After a little over an hour, FirstEnergy employees were able to temporarily reconfigure the electricity grid and once again supply 1,500 people.
The city did not have too many problems caused by the blackout, according to Mark Taylor, director of emergency services for Blair County.
“Obviously with these blackouts there will be some inconvenience, but none of our schools, hospitals or anything has struggled” Taylor said. “We got away with it. “
It would be several hours before power was fully restored, Meyer said, as crews worked to replace the equipment that was burnt out early Thursday afternoon. Power should be fully restored this morning.
“These substations have animal guards that keep them out of a lot of certain types of equipment, but this squirrel has gotten really tall,” Meyer said. “In these cases, there is nothing we can do to stop them. “
Mirror Staff Editor Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.
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