UPDATE: 'Wildlife' caused major power outage in east end

UPDATE #1:

PUC is reporting that power was restored to all customers at 3:43 p.m. Thursday, nearly one hour after the outage began.

Jairus Patterson, a spokesman for PUC, says "wildlife" caused the outage.

ORIGINAL STORY:

A power outage in the east end of the city is impacting more than 3,000 customers.

The power was knocked out at 2:50 p.m., according to a post from PUC Services. A total of 3,070 customers are affected, as shown on the above map.

The cause of the interruption is not known at this time.

SooToday will provide more details as they become available.

On its website, PUC is reminding all customers of the following:

• Downed wires should always be considered energized or "live", and extremely dangerous
• Do not approach or drive over a downed power line and do not touch anything the power line may be in contact with
• Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about powerline safety and the dangers that can be associated with power lines
• Take all the necessary safety precautions during a power outage

Anyone with information leading to the cause of the outage, or other concerns, is urged to call the PUC emergency number at 705-759-6555.