Fourth squirrel attack to cost UA $30,000
By Chris Sanders
News Director
September 18, 2002
There were no power outages or canceled classes this time. Just another fried squirrel.
A bushy-tailed creature wreaked havoc on the University's Campus Drive power substation Monday morning, marking the fourth time this year that a Capstone squirrel has crossed paths with electricity. The rodent infiltrated a capacitor, causing about $30,000 in damage and raising the voltage of the power entering some campus buildings.
Tuscaloosa firefighters and University of Alabama Department of Public Safety officers responded to the scene at about 9:30 a.m. Monday after receiving a call about smoke coming from a capacitor, UADPS Lt. Beth Turner said.
Ten minutes later, the fire was under control. Shortly thereafter, investigators found their crispy culprit. The police report lists the fire as a "damaged property incident" - "Of course it's not an offense, since it's by a squirrel," Turner said - that resulted in no power outages.
Workers will be able to salvage part of the capacitor. The squirrel, however, was a complete loss.