Squirrel shorts transformer at a local school - Includes pic of toasted squirrel

Ouch! Now that's a crispy critter.
At least he won't be a repeat offender.
[Linked Image from gray-waff-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com]

I've seen where squirrels have shorted out the electrical system in buildings before.

Quote

Squirrel causes mechanical problem at Guntersville school
By Nick Kremer Published: Aug. 16, 2022 at 8:32 AM CDT|Updated: 1 hour ago

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - On Monday, a squirrel caused a mechanical problem at Guntersville Middle School which led to students being kept out of the building.

According to the Guntersville City Schools Superintendent, the squirrel caused a leg of a transformer to pop which resulted in smoke blowing in the building.

The superintendent says that a few students had been dropped off at the school by that time, but they were kept outside until the issue was resolved.

Buses that were en route to the school at the time of the incident were redirected to the elementary school while the fire department checked to make sure everything was safe. The students were able to return to the building around 9 a.m.

Link to original story WAFF 48 News

Used to happen routinely in my neighborhood as a kid on pole-mounted transformers. You'd hear a loud pop, and the lights would flicker, or go off.

Happens all the time around here.

I saw one get zapped by overhead power lines. Big pop by the transformer and the poor guy was smoldering when he hit the deck.

Who's ready for dinner
He is done
Well Done

Those little Bastids are destructive creatures

We had one interrupt a football game years ago. There was about a minute left in the first half. After fixing it over half-time, the final minute of the first half was played, then the second half was started. I remember it well because my son (now 41) kicked a field goal that was the difference in the game.

Had one knock out the power to our plant. Production stopped for a couple of hours.

Clyde

Bet that smells good.

Originally Posted by BLG

Had one knock out the power to our plant. Production stopped for a couple of hours.

Clyde

We had a 'coon get into a substation at the foundry a few times. Earth shattering ka-boom and nothing left of the critter. 13.8k is some wicked schidt...

Chupacabre 💀

Originally Posted by smokepole

Used to happen routinely in my neighborhood as a kid on pole-mounted transformers. You'd hear a loud pop, and the lights would flicker, or go off.

Beat me to it😊. BABOOM! It seemed like it always happened during Sunday morning breakfast. 😁 The transformer was only about 100’ from the house so it usually scared the 💩 out of us.

Later we would go out and find the roasted squirrel and it would look just like the one above.

And its name is Anne H.....

7.2 KV will arc four feet in the right conditions. The squirrel provided a path to ground. it has happened to people too. not a pretty sight.

Originally Posted by DigitalDan

And its name is Anne H.....

😄😄😄😄😄

Link didn't work for me. I m bummed I hate fugking tree rats. They destroyed my Dodge Ram.

Originally Posted by rainshot

7.2 KV will arc four feet in the right conditions. The squirrel provided a path to ground. it has happened to people too. not a pretty sight.

Indeed. We had a guy try to lift a big wire with a 1x4 so a building could be moved under. I didn't witness it, but those that did said his belt buckle was burning a hole in his stomach when he hit the ground (ded).

Had one at our house a while back. As described, a big KABOOM and the lights go out. When the power company guy came and reset the breaker, he said they get one or two "smoking squirrel" calls a week.

He said that it happens when a squirrel is standing on the grounded transformer top and reaches up to touch the incoming line. 13KV makes for a vanished squirrel and sometimes burns a hole in the transformer, which they then have to replace.

Happens around here from time to time. However, there usually isn't that much left of the squirrel afterwards... usually you just find fried squirrel parts all over or inside a transformer cabinet...

Originally Posted by Beoceorl

Don't knock it 'til ya' try it. Just sayin.'

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Originally Posted by skeen

Originally Posted by Beoceorl

Don't knock it 'til ya' try it. Just sayin.'

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

That schit will make anything taste good.

Pikers!

A while back there was a pic of a maybe 800 lb brown bear, nicely toasted, from up Anchorage way.

I doubt anyone put mustard on him tho.

Back in the mid 90's I was outside one summer evening about 6:30 and I could have sworn someone fired a shotgun less than a quarter mile up the road. The wife comes out of the house and tells me the power is off. Eventually I learned that the shotgun noise I heard was the demise of a squirrel that had been gnawing on the power line up there. It was quite a loud blast.

In our desert country it seems to be mostly fried great horned owls.

It’s happened at work a few times with crows…. I’m guessing 2 or 3 of them touch each other and it completes the circuit 😂

In Fairbanks, most typically flash fried ravens.

Originally Posted by las

Pikers!

A while back there was a pic of a maybe 800 lb brown bear, nicely toasted, from up Anchorage way.

I doubt anyone put mustard on him tho.

🤣🤣😳

We had that happen some years ago, wasn’t much keft

It's not everyday you see your hometown on the ol' campfire

Originally Posted by Muddinmetal

It's not everyday you see your hometown on the ol' campfire

Nice!

Doing an impersonation of Anne H

We saw lots of zapped squirrels during my 34 years in the utility business but the one that bamboozled us for a while was outages on the high line near one of our remote offices. Turned out to be caused by buzzzards drying their wings and going phase to phase. I even saw a few hawk/owl claws still clutching the wire with nothing else left.

Down here we have the small green parrots that build nests in the transformers,used to get interesting at work when they would knock out power to half the refinery.

Wonder where Big Mortie is, figured he would like this thread.

Snakes are a big cause of electrical problems around here too. Rat Snake Flambé has left a lot of folks in the dark over the years.

Too bad it wasnt that squirrel Gascon.

Was this ole boy several years ago, got drunk and climbed the fence, went into one of the TVA substations. I think Nashville.
Anyway, I said drunk? Yeah ok
So he had a buddy with him. He was gonna climb this short tower bout 30ft where the big juice comes onnoff of the big transmission. His goal was to rain piss down onto a large hornet’s nest in there on some sort of uhhh, obviously energized structure.
He got electrifried

Happens to the copper cable thieves a lot.
Just rewards. I'd hate to be on the cleanup crew.

Originally Posted by DigitalDan

Wonder where Big Mortie is, figured he would like this thread.

I miss Big Mortie and his tales of "blasten squills" with a 45-70!

GOOD TIMES HEER WITH BIG MORTIE!!!!

Originally Posted by BIG_MORTIE

CUMEN HEER IS SUREILLY GOOD TIME FUR ALL OF YOUS OUT THAR!! :lol: :lol: :lol: THE TRANSFUR OF KNOWLEDGGE AND FELLO SHIP HAS BEGIN ASWELL!!MANIE GOOD TIMES AHEED FUR YOUS AND ME AND MANIE GOOD HUNTEN STORIE AHEED ASWELL!!

FUR YOUS OUT THAR NOT LIKEN SQUILL THEY IS SUME SPECIUL STORE AHEED FUR YOU VERIE SOON BOUT BLASTEN DEARS AND OTHUR BIG GAME ANNAMULES AND EVUN SUME MURE STORIE BOUT BLASTEN VARMUT!! BIG MORTIE HAS MUCH TO OFFUR SO JUST BE PATIANT CAUSE GOOD TIMES VERIE SOON!!

BIG MORTIE

Local electric company puts plastic wraps around transformer poles so squirrels can't get a grip to climb the pole. Heavy black plastic looks to be 24 inches or so wide ten foot off the ground.

Coon in the transformer rack took down a joint Navy & NASA base a few years back, for the better part of a half day.

Originally Posted by NVhntr

Happens to the copper cable thieves a lot.
Just rewards. I'd hate to be on the cleanup crew.

Medium well? LOL!
[Linked Image from live.staticflickr.com]

A squirrel shorted a pole transformer at work.

One of the dams here has a raccoon blow up when he was tall enough to reach over the insulators while standing on a metal roof.

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