Second Power Outage in Days In Wenatchee Area Linked to Squirrel

Power is restored in the Wenatchee area after a second outage affecting more than 1,000 customers is blamed on a squirrel.

The Douglas County PUD reports the second outage affected 1,064 customers along Sunset Hwy. in East Wenatchee for about 40 minutes (6:50 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.) Tuesday morning.

It follows an outage affecting about a thousand customers Sunday morning in Wenatchee, which was also blamed on a squirrel.

Numerous recent power outages in Chelan and Douglas counties have been linked to animals and wildlife.

Local utilities have implemented measure to try and block wildlife from disrupting power delivery.

A release from Chelan PUD earlier in July said the utility was investing in equipment upgrades, including "animal guards" meant to protects animals from contacting live electrical lines and equipment.