(Atlantic, Iowa) – A squirrel that got into a line at 7th and Mulberry in Atlantic, Monday afternoon, causing power to be knocked-out to some 300 customers of Atlantic Municipal Utilities. AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes told KJAN the incident caused a couple of “phase” issues, which resulted in scattered sections of the eastern side of Atlantic were without power for about an hour while crews effected repairs on the system. A loud boom could be heard just before the power went out, followed by the sounds of a transformer shorting out. The Cass County Communications Center reported traffic lights were out in areas mainly east of Chestnut Street, including 7th and Plum.

Various locations, including the Dollar General Store, Hy-Vee, McDonalds, the Atlantic High School and Middle School, Murphy USA and the AmericInn were in the dark for a while, while other sites, including WalMart (which has an emergency generator), were up and running as usual. Others commented their lights only flickered, but stayed-on.