'Squirrel contact' blamed for Orléans outage that plunges thousands into darkness

Hydro Ottawa is blaming squirrels for a power outage that caused a huge swath of darkness across Orléans Tuesday afternoon. 
The lights went out for 8,580 clients in the area of St. Joseph Boulevard, and Navan, Mer Bleue and Innes roads at about noon.
Staff arriving on the scene quickly found clues indicating “squirrel contact” as the culprit.
“Crews found 2 lightning arresters blown,” the utility grimly noted.
Quick repairs restored power to about 6,000 custo