Power back on in West Richland after a squirrel knocked out a substation
Crews restored power to West Richland after an errant squirrel knocked out electricity to most of the city.
The power shut off shortly after after noon after a squirrel caused some fuses to blow and knocked out the entire substation. The outage affected 3,778 customers, according to the Benton REA.
Benton REA crews fixed the damage and brought the power back on by 2:15 p.m.
The Benton Rural Electric Association is a nonprofit electric cooperative that serves 14,467 customers across western Benton County.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 1:52 PM.