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KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A local utility company said a “masked bandit” is to blame for an hourlong power outage in Kissimmee.
Kissimee Utility Authority said a curious raccoon “single-pawedly” knocked out power to more than 2,800 residents around 5 a.m. Tuesday.
The utility company said the raccoon climbed inside a 13,200-volt breaker inside the utility’s airport substation off of Hoagland Boulevard.
“Raccoons are excellent climbers and notoriously curious—a threatening combination which results in substation outages across the U.S. each year,” said Chris Gent, vice president of corporate communications for KUA.
Power was restored in the area just after 6 a.m.
Sadly, Gent said, the raccoon did not survive.
READ: Raccoon spotted hanging out of car window on Florida highway
A rogue raccoon jumped the fence of one of our electrical substations this morning, single-pawedly knocking out power to 2,844 customers for an hour. Sadly, the raccoon did not survive. https://t.co/f8JgRNTjgz #Kissimmee #PublicPower #raccoon #poweroutage pic.twitter.com/agRmorUxcA
— Kissimmee Utility (@KUAdirect) July 30, 2019
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