"Ours is not to reason why, ours is to do or die." - Rocket J. Squirrel, commander, 1st Flying Squirrel Cavalry, Air Mobile

Squirrel trips latest power loss

By JUDSON DRENNAN Gazette staff writer

(Published April 4, 2000)

About 32,000 SCE&G customers lost power on Monday morning after a squirrel caused a downtown Beaufort substation to shut down.

South Carolina Electric and Gas officials said a squirrel got into the substation at the end of Depot Road about 8 a.m. and the station shut down as a safety measure.

The squirrel was electrocuted during the incident, SCE&G district manager David Tempel said.

Tempel said squirrels cause frequent interruptions in power in the area, sometimes several times a day. However, those interruptions usually affect only a few customers at most.

However, because the Depot Road substation serves so many people, it has fail-safe systems that switch off power at the first sign of trouble. That way, Tempel said, the million-dollar system is protected from damage and SCE&G employees can get the power restored more quickly.

It was second quirky power problem for SCE&G in three days.

On Saturday morning traffic lights on U.S. 21 went out after a power pole fell behind the Sears store on S.C. 170.

SCE&G officials said the power pole had been leaning for some time and finally toppled, putting stress on the lines that caused momentary interruptions in power. Service was not interrupted for more than a few seconds, they said.

They said the only customer without power was the Sears store. The store was evacuated after firefighters discovered that power lines were resting on the building's roof.Nearby traffic signals were out for about 30 minutes, said Capt. Thomas Cooper of the Burton Fire Department. Cooper said the downed lines caused no fires or injuries.

Cooper said it appeared that bottom of the pole had rotted.

http://www.beaufortgazette.com/localnews/story/0,1458,149277,00.html

-- - (x@xxx.com), April 05, 2000

Answers

Commander Rocket J. Squirrel

-- - (x@xxx.com), April 05, 2000.

Looks like the Squirrel King made good on his threat to create an air force. Be afraid, be very afraid... 8-}

-- DeeEmBee (macbeth1@pacbell.net), April 05, 2000.

As I type this, there are six gray ones and two fox squirrels on my porch. The cat says that they are forming an attack position.

Best wishes,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), April 05, 2000.

Here in Northern California, we may have high gas prices, earthquakes, floods, and fires, but we still have one big advantage...NO SQUIRRELS :^)

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), April 05, 2000.

Jim:

We also have the flying kind. They only come out at night. Stealth squirrels. Missed them when I lived in the west.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), April 05, 2000.

Z:

My sister-in-law lives in Cincinnati, which apparently has every type of squirrel known to man. She has a bird feeder which functions mostly as a squirrel feeder and the flying squirrels dive bomb the feeder to drive off the terrestrial squirrels. They then start fighting with birds for the seeds. The racket is unbelievable. I'm glad I only have hummingbirds in my garden :^)

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), April 05, 2000.

The Squirrel King is alive and well, just not posting. Ah, remember the days of the old board?

-- another government hack (keepwatching_2000@yahoo.com), April 05, 2000.

How do you know the Squirrel King isn't posting anymore?

xxx@xxx.com could be the King...or I could >"<

-- Chris (!@#$@pond.com), April 05, 2000.

Jim Cooke said:

"Here in Northern California, we may have high gas prices, earthquakes, floods, and fires, but we still have one big advantage...NO SQUIRRELS"

....no squirrels, but plenty of nuts!

;-)

-- Ain't Gonna Happen (Not Here Not@ever.com), April 06, 2000.

The problem is squirrelstemic.

-- CJS (cjs@noemail.com), April 06, 2000.