NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Businesses on the south side of North Platte were forced to turn away customers after an animal knocked out power.
Municipal Light and Water Electric superintendent Scott Standage said that a bird or squirrel got tangled in some power lines and took out the main breaker in a power substation.
Electricity was out for about an hour late Saturday morning.
The problems at the substation sparked a fire in some nearby brush. The fire department’s Jeff Henkla reported that firefighters battled the blaze for about two hours as high winds threatened to spread the flames.
Last year, a turkey got tangled in some power lines and left half of North Platte without power.