Crow causes 3-hour power outage for 2,200 Winnipeggers

An unlucky crow caused a three-hour power outage in south Winnipeg Saturday morning.

Around 2,200 customers in theBridgwater Forest neighbourhood lost power shortly before 11 a.m. when a crow made contact with two live points at the same time in a substation in the area, where it was trying to build a nest.

Bruce Owen, a spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro, said by touching both points at once, the birdbecame an energyconductor, which killed the bird and causedthe outage.

Owen said the utility typically keeps birds' wingspans in mind when spacing out wires to prevent them from causing such outages.

"When you see birds sitting on a wire, that's OK," he said. "But when the birds make contact with the two wires, carrying the electricitytherein, it becomes problematic."

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Crews restored power after clearing the nest and remaining debris, he said.

Owen said Hydro has measures in place to prevent other types of birds from nesting on Hydro equipment. In Manitoba, a common culprit is the osprey, he said. The birds like to make their homes high up, and power line poles are often their top pick.

For that reason, Owen said the utility setsup taller, de-energized poles throughout the province with "osprey platforms" on top for the birds to settle down on, keeping them away from power lines.

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