Spring Break
Northwest Corvallis suffers power outage
Bird trapped in transformer caused 10,000 Pacific Power customers to be without power for most of the day; businesses close shop
Issue date: 8/8/07 Section: News
Over 10,000 Pacific Power customers were left without power throughout most of Sunday afternoon. Tom Gauntt, a spokesman for the Pacific Power company said that the reason for the blackout was a bird that got caught in one of the transformers located between 29th Street and NW Grant Ave.
"They can fly in there and sometimes they get caught between the wires," Gauntt said. The blackout did not affect the OSU campus.
The power outage began at 9:23 a.m. on Sunday. At the peak of the blackout, 10,680 Pacific Power customers were affected. Most of Northwest Corvallis and the Timberhill area remained without power until 5:30 p.m.
"Usually the crew is able to work through something like this pretty fast, but the bird blew out a significant portion of the circuit," Gauntt said.
Most businesses remained closed through the power outage, and some re-opened once the power was restored. McMenamins restaurant in downtown Corvallis was not affected by the blackout and was bustling with customers.
"We were pretty busy yesterday because the McMenamins on Monroe was directing its customers our way," said Adam Sperling, a manager of McMenamins in downtown Corvallis.
The new Jamba Juice shop had also closed its doors as the power went out, but re-opened later that day. "We had two employees sitting in the store, watching the temperature and making sure the food didn't go bad," said Mandy Hattfield, one of the managers of Jamba Juice. "We opened as soon as the lights were back on again."
"They can fly in there and sometimes they get caught between the wires," Gauntt said. The blackout did not affect the OSU campus.
The power outage began at 9:23 a.m. on Sunday. At the peak of the blackout, 10,680 Pacific Power customers were affected. Most of Northwest Corvallis and the Timberhill area remained without power until 5:30 p.m.
"Usually the crew is able to work through something like this pretty fast, but the bird blew out a significant portion of the circuit," Gauntt said.
Most businesses remained closed through the power outage, and some re-opened once the power was restored. McMenamins restaurant in downtown Corvallis was not affected by the blackout and was bustling with customers.
"We were pretty busy yesterday because the McMenamins on Monroe was directing its customers our way," said Adam Sperling, a manager of McMenamins in downtown Corvallis.
The new Jamba Juice shop had also closed its doors as the power went out, but re-opened later that day. "We had two employees sitting in the store, watching the temperature and making sure the food didn't go bad," said Mandy Hattfield, one of the managers of Jamba Juice. "We opened as soon as the lights were back on again."
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