Local

See what happens when a snake causes a power outage

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A snake is to blame for a major power outage in Clay County Tuesday night.

Clay Electric says a snake crawled across a transformer tie-breaker in Clay Electric’s Double Branch substation Tuesday evening at about 10:30 p.m. It caused a power outage that left just over 5,000 customers in the dark for nearly an hour.

Double Branch substation is located off of Brannan Field Road and serves OakLeaf and portions of Argyle.

Clay Electric says the snake caused an arc flash when it made contact with the energized equipment, taking two transformers in the substation out of service and causing outages on five feeder lines.

Personnel checked the substation this morning, and no repairs will be needed other than painting some areas scorched by the electrical arc.

Orange Park District Line Supervisor Don Clark says all the rain lately has got snakes moving around and looking for higher ground. It’s not unusual for reptiles and small animals to occasionally come in contact with the cooperative’s distribution equipment and cause outages.