High-wire squirrels torch man's home twice in 8 days
For the second time in eight days, Turcott's Blue Island home caught fire when squirrels knocked high-voltage wires loose from a utility pole and onto his three-story house, fire officials said.
"This is unbelievable," Blue Island Fire Chief Robert Copp said. "I've seen where squirrels have shorted things out or blown a fuse, but nothing like this before."
Two scorched squirrels were found after the fires, confirming the critter cause, Copp said. It appears they transferred power from one line to the next as they bounced across the wires June 9 and 17.
"It's like a battlefield around here," Turcott said as he pointed to his plywood-patched home. "I think it's a total loss. It's just a big nightmare."
But Turcott isn't so quick to point the finger at his furry neighbors. The lines should be able to handle squirrel traffic, he said.
"If (ComEd) would have maintained and repaired (the wires) properly, the fires wouldn't have started," he said.
Related News
UK peak power prices rise to second highest level since 2018
LONDON - Low wind speeds pushed peak hour power prices to the second highest level for at least three years on Monday as Britain’s grid was forced to increase its reliance on gas-fired power plants and draw on coal generation.
Calm weather this year has exacerbated the energy price crisis in the UK, as gas-fired power stations have had to pick up the slack from wind farms. Energy demand has surged as countries open up from pandemic restrictions, which together with lower supplies from Russia to western Europe, has sent wholesale gas prices soaring.
Power prices in the UK for the peak…
