by Sarah LaBrasca for Ruralite
Picture this: You've just settled in at home after a long day. You're prepping the ingredients for that delicious Pinterest honey-garlic pork chop recipe. The kids are in the living room, absorbed in their games. The dog is begging for scraps at your feet. It's an ordinary evening, and you're already looking forward to that new episode of Love is Blind once the kitchen is cleaned up.
Then it happens: The overhead lights flicker...and go out completely.
The kids immediately chime in to remind you they haven't even eaten yet, and it's definitely not bedtime.
Your first thought: "I paid the power bill, right?" A quick check of your mobile banking confirms you're in the clear. So you shuffle over to the breaker panel—nothing is tripped. Next stop: your SmartHub app, where you report the outage and notice every house on your block is also dark.
What's going on?
By the time you've finished submitting that outage report, chances are a Lakeview Light & Power line crew has already been notified and is on the way. We take pride in fast response and reliable restoration.
In this case, the culprit turns out to be a squirrel.
One curious squirrel chewing on a live wire is all it takes to send electrical current off course, cutting power and sometimes damaging equipment. And, unfortunately for our furry friend, there may now be a squirrel funeral to plan.
Squirrel-related outages are more common than you might think. According to the American Public Power Association, squirrels are the third-leading cause of sustained outages nationwide—right behind trees and equipment failure. Critter Guard, a wildlife mitigation company, reports squirrels cause more outages than any other animal in the country, with activity peaking in the spring. Squirrels were responsible for 7,196 outages in 2023 and more than 15,000 in 2019.
Because of this, protecting power lines from wildlife is a priority for utilities. You might see Lakeview Light & Power crews trimming branches or removing overgrown limbs near power lines. That's not just to prevent storm damage—it's also a long-term strategy to keep squirrels from gaining easy access to utility lines and poles.
Utilities also use durable, rotating guards—often made of PVC-coated galvanized steel wire—around exposed lines. These devices spin freely when a squirrel tries to run across, causing the squirrel to lose footing and fall off, helping protect the animal and the electrical equipment.
Every year, about 13 million Americans lose power due to wildlife. The global cost of wildlife-caused outages exceeds $10 billion annually. That's why reporting outages quickly—and remaining calm—is so important. Crews often don't know the cause until they arrive on-site, but Lakeview Light & Power provides outage and estimated restoration updates on our website and Facebook page to keep you informed.
Lakeview Light & Power urges our consumers never to attempt to remove wildlife from power lines or try to block animals from reaching lines.
Power lines are always dangerous, even when they appear inactive. Only trained utility crews can safely disable and work on them.
An outage might be annoying, inconvenient and frustrating—but it is never worth risking a human life. When you report an outage quickly and then step back, you help ensure that trained professionals can handle the situation safely and restore power to you and your neighbors as soon as possible.
Have a power outage? Report it through the SmartHub app or call LLP's outage number: 253-584-6060.