NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — An errant crow apparently caused a power outage that affected nearly 7,000 National Grid customers on Saturday morning.
While the utility company can't confirm for sure it was the bird, a crow was found at the North Adams substation, said National Grid spokeswoman Jackie Barry.
"Crows, sometimes when they alight or take off different parts of their body touch different parts of energized equipment and it can arc," she said, because of their size and wingspan. "There was no damage to the equipment but it shut off a number of breakers that are connected to three lines that serve Williamstown and North Adams."
The breakers flipped at about 10:30, affecting customers in North Adams' West End, Williamstown and south along the west side of Route 7, according to the company's power outage map. The outage lasted about 45 minutes.
The utility does put in animal deterrents but they can find their way in, said Barry, particularly squirrels.
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Gotta love iberkshires for being on the ball and getting this story up so fast! thanks!
To L Perry's point ... the opposite is likely to happen. I wonder how much National Grid guys make for overtime on a Saturday when they're called to take care of this. The little fried crow incident probably cost several hundred dollars in overtime. Do they get a four-hour minimum?
I once lived in the Berkshires, now live in New Hampshire. In the last 2 years I have lost my power for weeks at a time. Do not complain about 45 minutes!!!!!!
Don't know about anyone else but these crows are becoming quite the nusanace in many parts of the City. They have grown to an enormous amount. Wait 'til Spring, you'll get wake up calls about 4am. I hate the damn things. Wish there was something that can be done to get rid of them.
Any ideas? Maybe if enough of these incidents happen the authorities will do something about it?
@Liz I to once lived in the berkshires and live in NH as well.Ive been here since 2004.And Last Feb we lost power for 5 days.I can't believe someone would even think about asking the electric company for accomidations.45 Minutes is nothing compaired to how often we lose it up here.
To Well Done Crow: Right on! Rather than pay those guys a 4 hr min to come in and restore your power on a Sat morning, tell them to stay home! You wouldn't mind using candles and cooking on a fire in your yard till they come in on Mon morning.
Way to go genius....the damn crows are twice the size of a cat. Now there's an intelligent thought. Maybe a 12 gauge and some #2 birdshot would solve the problem. Although it is tough to do living in the city. Here's a thought, move to the country with the fisher cats and bears. They're more entertaining.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There's a cat No Paws Left Behind still waiting for his forever home.
iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. He was previously highlighted but he now has new information.
Grey Boy is 10 years old and is a gray and white domestic shorthair and was previously highlighted on Companion Corner.
The shelter's Executive Director Noelle Howland introduced us to him and his long journey to be ready for adoption.
"He's been here a couple months. He was a transfer from a rescue in Bennington. They were out of space, so we had taken him in with a few other cats. So he's been here a couple months. He came in with what we believed was a respiratory infection," she said. "So it took us a little bit to get him ready, and then he also needed a dental. So he has nice, clean teeth. He had some teeth removed, and then he has to go back in and have one more dental. So he'll be all ready to go."
It was previously thought that he has feline herpes but he was recently diagnosed with a palette fracture because of how bad his dental disease was, which is what is causing his sneezing. He can now go home with cats, a cat-savvy dog and children.
"He has had two dentals since being with us. Due to the palate fracture he will be sneezy for the rest of his life, not contagious sneezing, but that doesn’t stop him from living a perfectly happy life. He should be on wet food with chunks due to this and since he has had many teeth removed," Howland said.
Grey Boy loves to play with toys and enjoy treats. He would also love to have a window to lounge or bird-watch in.
"He is not afraid of anything. He's very curious, so I'm sure he'd love if you have windows for him to look out of. He still plays, even though he's 10 it does not stop him. So any home would be a good fit for him."
Now that he is ready to be adopted, he is excited. When you walk into the room with him he will rub up against your leg introducing himself and asking to be pet.
"Usually, I would say, when you're walking, he'll bonk into you so he might catch you off guard a little bit. He constantly is rubbing against you," Howland said. "He really, I would say he's lazy when you want him to be, and he's active when you want him to be. He'll play with toys. He's usually lounging away. And then when he comes out he'll play. He loves it. So, very friendly, easy going cat."
He is now perfectly healthy with his dentals all done and veterinary care up to date and is ready to find his forever family.
"I would say the friendliest, easiest cat you could have. He's just, he's just gonna be a little sneezy sometimes, but that doesn't stop him from doing anything," she said.
Grey Boy's adoption fee is sponsored by Rooted in Balance Counseling LLC.
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