Thousands of people lost power in south metro Denver this week after squirrels managed to get into a power substation in Douglas County, causing outages two days in a row and a possible explosion.
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The first outage happened Tuesday when a squirrel entered the Castle Rock substation and touched equipment, which caused a fault that cut power to about 4,400 CORE Electric Cooperative members for a little over 2 hours, co-op spokesperson TJ Accola said.
The outage was linked to “an explosion caused by a squirrel” and cut power to people living in the Founders area and parts of downtown, Castle Rock officials said in a post on social media.
CORE cannot confirm if there was an explosion at the substation because no one was there at the time, Accola said.
Another squirrel managed to get into the substation on Wednesday and damaged distribution equipment, causing a 40-minute outage that affected about 1,300 co-op members. Crews found remains that made it clear it was a squirrel that touched the equipment, Accola said.
Wildlife getting into trouble with electrical equipment is not unheard of in Colorado — in the summer of 2024, the flaming carcasses of birds electrocuted on power lines started at least three brush fires on the Front Range.
Wildlife, usually birds or rodents, are involved in between 5% and 10% of CORE’s outages every year, according to the organization. Crews cover up most energized equipment and follow guidelines to protect birds and prevent wildfires through practices like using equipment and structures that are less likely to attract or threaten birds.
“While we go to great lengths to prevent wildlife from causing damage, these animals are persistent and continue to find new ways around even the best defense tactics,” Accola said.
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