Power went out briefly just after 7 am Monday morning in several areas of the Vineyard. A squirrel stepped where it should not have and short circuited a transformer on a main power line on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road.
Tisbury Police happened to be passing by and witnessed the unlucky squirrel meet its demise and interrupt the morning routine of many Islanders.
Michael Durand, NStar spokesman, said a squirrel climbed to the top of a pole and came in contact with a couple of electrical connections. That contact, Mr. Durand said, caused a protective device to operate, interrupting power to 5,400 customers for between three and 20 minutes.
“Most of the affected customers, 3,500, got power back within six minutes because we were able to reroute power to them using other equipment,” Mr. Durand said. “Power was restored to the remaining customers when a crew arrived to reset the protective device.”
