Squirrel causes power outage, school closure

If you lost power near Forest Park Monday morning, you can blame an unusual culprit – a squirrel.

About 4,500 Duke Energy customers lost power in Forest Park, Colerain Township and other nearby neighborhoods after a squirrel entered a substation and got zapped, a Duke Energy spokesperson said.

The power outage forced Northwest High School officials to dismiss school at 11:45 a.m. Monday.

The outage occurred around 9:45 a.m., the spokesperson said. Power was restored to most customers by noon, and the remainder got it back by 1 p.m.

The squirrel did not survive.

Reporter Keith BieryGolick contributed.