Salem Fire Chief Jim Cerny says a report of an explosion that knocked out power to parts of the 200 and 300 blocks of Woodland Drive late Monday morning apparently was the result of a squirrel touching two wires.
Cerny says the transformer was not damaged, but instead the squirrel had tripped a breaker shutting out the power to about 45 customers. Firemen stood by until Ameren arrived to access the situation and make repairs.
