Troy Utilities had a rather “nutty” power situation on their hands Wednesday morning. Two squirrels were the cause of an hour-long blackout within the homes and businesses of many in the city, according to General Manager of Utilities James Flowers. Around 8 a.m. Wednesday, Flowers said the utility company was notified of a blackout that had occurred along the southeast side of town. Flowers said the outage resulted from the squirrels in a substation on Park Street.

“The squirrels caused an electrical fire that damaged a switch in the substation,” Flowers said.

For about an hour, residents and businesses on George Wallace Drive, a portion of U.S. 231 South and the area of Second Avenue were all without power Wednesday.Wal-Mart Manager Bobby Brackenridge said their store was affected by the blackout, but they were able to keep business going as usual. “We had no issues,” Brackenridge said. “We kept our customers going as usual.” While Wal-Mart does not have a store generator, Brackenridge said they were able to get enough light for customers to continue shopping, and they did not have to throw out any food. “We got enough skylights in here to keep it going,” Brackenridge said. During the blackout, the Troy Police Department assisted by directing traffic at intersections where traffic lights were out. By 9 a.m., Flowers said the power was back on.