Outage caused by squirrel kills power for 5,000 Auburn customers
Aug 22, 2024, 12:42 PM
A map of reported outages in Auburn. (Screenshot of map courtesy of Puget Sound Energy)
(Screenshot of map courtesy of Puget Sound Energy)
The cause of a power outage affecting more than 5,000 customers in Auburn was initially listed as bird or animal-induced by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) until they found the true culprit — a squirrel that got into PSE equipment.
The power outage knocked out traffic signals along Highway 18 at Auburn Way South and at the intersections of Main and Division Street, 2nd and A Street and Main and A Street Southwest, according to KIRO 7. An early learning center was forced to close due to lack of power.
Due to a power outage, there are several signals throughout the City of Auburn that are dark. Please remember to treat these intersections as a 4-way stop. Puget Sound Energy is working to get power back on as soon as possible. https://t.co/MJuC1qRA5W pic.twitter.com/0tEdsRbhsa
— City of Auburn (@auburn_wa) August 22, 2024
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Additionally, Valley Christian School in Auburn shared on social media that they would be closed today due to the power outage, according to KIRO 7. Repair crews are on site continuing to fix the situation after PSE rerouted power to non-damaged equipment.
PSE told KIRO 7 that once power is rerouted, it will be able to repair the damaged equipment and eventually restore power to the original transformer.
As of 12:30 p.m., approximately four hours after power was initially lost, PSE reported 1,260 customers are still without power.
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This is a developing story, check back for updates
Contributing: KIRO 7
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.
