Squirrel's high wire act sets off brush fire near Seufert Substation in East TD on Aug. 25
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., Aug. 26, 2024 — A squirrel sent fire and first responders scrambling on Sunday, Aug. 25, after its high wire act was incendiary.
Authorities were called at around 11 a.m. to the fire burning at the end of a private road on East 20th Street just above Adventist Health Hospital.
Two Wasco County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived with shovels and Mid-Columbis Fire & Rescue sent an engine within a few minutes an ambulance and several brush trucks with the US and State Forest Service brush trucks were eventually on-site.
The blaze was kept to a small area as there was little wind that morning.
The flames were discovered in an orchard just south of the Seurfert Substation owned by the Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District. A PUD employee who saw the smoke quickly arrived to investigate what happened.
Larger flames were quickly knocked down and firefighters went into mop-up mode at the 1-acre blaze.
There were no injuries to humans.
However, a squirrel lost its life as it was determined it came in contact with overhead power lines.
“If a squirrel still has one of its rear feet or its tail in contact with the wire while stepping down to the transformer with its front paw, it will complete a short circuit and allow electricity to flow. This often results in the squirrel's electrocution and may also damage the transformer,” according to www.skedaddlewildlife.com
No power outages were reported in The Dalles.
“Squirrels are the animals most often associated with power outages, as they use electrical power lines both for travel and a place to rest. When a squirrel climbs onto an electrical transformer, it may cross the bare wire that leads from the high-voltage line to the transformer,” according to Until.com “If it were to simultaneously touch this wire and a part of the transformer with sufficient electrical ground, an electrical short can cause both a power outage and the electrocution of the animal.”
“Forget about bulls and bears—in 1987 an errant squirrel caused the NASDAQ stock exchange to lose power for 82 minutes, keeping an estimated 20 million shares from being traded,” according to Brittanica.com
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