An Arizona city had an unexpected power shutdown, but not for reasons one might expect…
Normally, power shortages are caused by weather or technical problems, but in this particular case, the shutdown was caused by a bear that somehow got stuck on a pole.
Last Monday, Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) was notified about the bear being stuck and sent two of their people down to help it get back down safely.
One of the experts sent to help was Werner Neubauer, who quickly went to the power line on the outskirts of Willcox to turn it off so the bear wouldn’t get fried.
In an interview with Fox News, he said:
“[The bear] was in a pretty dangerous spot. Could’ve very easily gotten himself electrocuted. He was real close to a phase energized at 7,500 volts.”
Warner Newbauer and Efren Gallego
of the Sulphur Spring Valley Electric Co-op coaxing a young bear off a utility pole in Willcox yesterday.
They cut power to the pole before going up in their boom truck basket. The bear, likely startled up the pole, then moved off uninjured. pic.twitter.com/BIjetTHsja— AZ Game & Fish Dept (@azgfdTucson) June 8, 2021
After shutting the power, Werner went up the pole via bucket lift to try to make the bear go down.
In a now-viral video, he can be heard talking to the animal, who didn’t seem like it was in any hurry.
By using a stick, Werner gently nudged the bear down and, after it tried getting a hold of and biting the stick, the bear eventually climbed down and went off into the wild unharmed.
Thankfully, the area was left without electricity only for arbout half an hour.
This is the second time in a month that a bear has been trapped up a power pole in an Arizona city.
Part of US Hwy 191 was briefly closed Sun. am while AZGFD Tucson, Douglas PD, Cochise SO and US Border Patrol drove off a bear that had climbed two utility poles. Two dozen onlookers scattered when the bear climbed down on its own. AZPS stood by, as the bear risked electrocution. pic.twitter.com/RkL2W197Cw
— AZ Game & Fish Dept (@azgfdTucson) May 9, 2021
What are your thoughts on this unusual situation? Let us know by joining the conversation in the comments and please share if you enjoy such content.
