Wayward Squirrel Triggers Power Outage That Affects 9,900 Customers

A wayward squirrel made contact with a circuit breaker and triggered a power outage that affected 9,900 customers in the Marina del Rey and Westchester communities, utility officials said Thursday.

The outage was reported at 3:28 p.m. when a distribution station near LAX lost power, said Albert Rodriguez, a spokesman with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

LADWP crews were dispatched to the site and discovered that a squirrel had made contact with one of the circuit breakers within the distribution system.

Crews made the repair and restored power at about 4:45 pm.

Utility crews dispatched to the scene found that a squirrel had made its way onto a circuit breaker, he said.

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