By Jake Armstrong

While Ms. O’Leary’s cow may have started the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, the blame for some recent power outages in La Cañada Flintridge and La Crescenta can effectively be placed on much smaller creatures: squirrels. But a new breed of fencing being installed at Southern California Edison’s distribution substation on Verdugo Boulevard in La Cañada may help avert the problem.

According to Christine McLeod, Edison regional manager, whenever a squirrel or similar animal works its way into the substation and comes into contact with a circuit breaker or other equipment, a 30-second power outage occurs while the system resets itself, disrupting service to 8,300 customers in La Cañada and 2,700 in La Crescenta. The outages might not be major, but when they happen at almost regular three-week intervals, as they did during a recent period, they’re "just enough to drive people crazy," McLeod said.

Edison workers at the La Cañada substation on Monday were preparing to install the new fence that is designed to keep small animals away form circuit breakers and other electrical equipment. Constructed of steel and wire mesh topped with angled heavy-gauge plastic plating, the fence is an effective and humane way to keep animals from the equipment, McLeod said.

The fence is the first to be installed in Edison’s system and is only the third constructed in the nation. The power company is hoping it will prevent future rodent-caused outages, which kill the animal and create a need for electric clocks to be reset.

La Cañada is going to be our test case but it’s kind of special because they’re getting it first," McLeod said. "It won’t be the end-all solution but it will tackle most of the problems we have up here."

In the past, Edison has used several other measures to varying levels of success in order to keep animals away from the circuit breakers. The breakers were once covered with a material that made it more difficult for animals to make direct contact, but they sometimes found a way around the material and caused outages.

In addition, spraying a mountain lion-scented substance around the substation was added to the maintenance schedule. However, the scent diminishes after rain and the squirrels, no longer held at bay by the aroma of a predator, eventually make their way in. Edison is also pruning trees on a lot to the east of the substation to prevent squirrels from jumping over the tall fence that surrounds the facility.

McLeod said squirrels often cause power problems in hillside communities, as they tend to chew through aluminum power lines, disrupting transmission. She said Edison is installing copper lines in areas where that is a problem.

More details on the PowerKage, Non-electric Fence