2,400 PG
&
amp;E customers lost their power for several hours Sunday
morning
Morgan Hill – An unidentified “large bird” caused a peck of trouble when it apparently became entangled with some power lines in west Morgan Hill.

The bird knocked out power to 2,400 PG&E customers for several hours, according to Brian Swanson, PG&E spokesperson.

Birds sometimes cause outages if they bring the wires into contact with each other; heat and wind can also cause trouble as excessive heat can make lines sag into one another, and wind can push them into each other.

Sunday’s trouble started at 9:50am on Oak Glen Avenue. A fire started as a result of the jolt; firefighters were able to contain it in about one hour, according to South Santa Clara County Fire Capt. Jim Rajskup.

Fire consumed a wood structure and a small RV trailer and about a quarter of an acre of vegetation.

No one was injured in the blaze, but the bird was unrecognizable. A PG&E worker removed it from the wires, Rajskup said.

Two South County Fire engines responded to the fire, along with one Santa Clara County Fire Department engine, five California Department of Forestry engines, a San Jose City Fire Department engine and water tender. A bulldozer and helicopter also helped extinguish the fire.

No other structures were threatened, and no one was evacuated from the area, Rajskup said.

“We were able to contain it fast enough so that it wasn’t necessary,” he said. “But the fire had potential (to spread), if it had been later in the day maybe. The wind really wasn’t an issue. The fire was slope driven, it came up underneath the structures.”

Swanson said all 2,400 customers had power again by noon.

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