Hundreds of Midwestern Power customers and two squirrels were very unlucky one day last fall.
Apparently a squirrel came into contact with an overhead transformer and knocked out service to 177 customers. Power was restored in just under an hour, but naturally the squirrel lost it’s life. The remains were found by repair crews.
Just 40 miles away in Ironwood, Mich, another squirrel got into a substation and caused a temporary power outage that affected 1400 customers.
The power company is now thinking about what kind of steps it can take to keep curious animals away from the lines as they, along with weather, are one of the leading causes of power outages.
“We kind of liken it to anyone who’s had a bird feeder and tried to keep the squirrels out,” said the power company spokesperson. “They find a way.”
Good luck!
We have the occasional power outage in our area and there’s been times when we’ve been caught without a flashlight or perhaps the batteries or light has worn out in the one or two that we have around the house. This is a big pain in the butt if the power outage happens in the evening.
There’s nothing wrong with candles, other than the possible fire hazard they impose, but you just can’t see well enough in the dark without having several candles blazing can you?
I recently discovered a site that sells several different types of flashlights. The company sells streamlight flashlights, plus many other brands such as Pelican, and Streamlight. They have Pelican LED flashlights, hands free headlamps, pocket, gun mount lights, and flash light accessories. These flashlight could be used for fun- ie camping and outdoor activities like hunting and camping, emergency situations such as when the power goes out at home, or by police and emergency services such as EMS and firefighters. The possible uses are endless.
I think it would be pretty cool to have a headlamp flashlight. We are always doing renovations around here and it would be nice to have a hands free light focused into a dark area that you happen to be working in. I think a headlamp flashlight would work perfectly in that type of situation. It would also be good if you were walking around outside in an unlit area, or perhaps even reading in bed. Hey why not?
Opticsplanet.com offers discount pricing, plus FREE UPS on order over $29.95. They also sell a whole line of products ranging from binoculars, microscopes, sunglasses to even MP3 players. I know that I’m going to look over the types of flashlights that they have in stock. We only have two flashlights in the house right now and think a three story house should probably have at least one flashlight for every floor if not more.
