Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Power Outage

The power went out in Ballard last night.  In the two plus years we’ve lived in Ballard, the power has never gone out.  The lack of “noise” woke me up around midnight, when it happened.  I went to the living room and looked around the neighborhood.  It was strange to see the apartments and streets with no lights what so ever.  The few cars that were driving on the streets looked eirie with super bright head lights. 
This morning Hubby found out the reason for the power outage:
A raccoon wandering through a power substation in Ballard around midnight today caused an electrical short that left 11,000 customers without lights for nearly an hour — and spelled the end to the critter.

When Seattle City Light workers arrived at the Canal Substation at 614 NW 45th St., “they could tell by the smell that an animal was involved,” said Mike Eagan, spokesman. Apparently the raccoon “bridged the wrong gap” on the transmission lines, he said.

Crews got the power back on by 12:45 a.m.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Poor Racoon…