Falling fish fries powerlines in Seattle
FISH STORIES – Utility officials say a falling fish knocked out power to nearly 200 customers this week in Seattle. While the city is famous for throwing and catching fish in Pike Place Market, this fish apparently was fumbled by a wild bird of prey.
Seattle City Light says a witness reported seeing a bird drop the fish. It was presumably one of the bald eagles or ospreys that hunt in the nearby Duwamish River.
A crew investigating the outage walked the power lines and found what workers described as an electrocuted salmon, or perhaps a bird's attempt at a fish fry.
Power was out for about two and a half hours.
City Light says birds often cause power outages – 162 of them in Seattle last year, including two by bald eagles. Raccoons are another common culprit. But spokeswoman Connie McDougall told the Associated Press that this is the first time she’s heard of a fish knocking out power.
Similarly, wild turkeys have been the culprits in several power outages recently in Medford, Oregon.
