COSTA MESA — A raccoon was the cause of nearly 8,000 customers losing power in Costa Mesa, Irvine and Santa Ana after it got caught in electrical equipment at a substation Saturday night, March 17.

About 10 p.m., Southern California Edison began receiving reports of a power outage, said Jim Hanggi, spokesman for SCE.

Crews responded, isolated the outage after locating the animal and began restoring power. Hanggi did not have further information about the raccoon.

Just watched half the power in Costa Mesa shut down. Freeway lights, high rises, everything. I think a transformer blew? Either that or aliens..😬 — Roman (@riomdin) March 18, 2018

Hanggi said it’s not often animals are the cause of power outages.

“From time to time, animals can find their way into the equipment,” he said.

Power for residents in Costa Mesa was restored just before midnight and power to all residents was restored by 9:26 a.m. Sunday, March 18, Hanggi said.