UPDATE: Squirrel Caused 2,500 Perry Hall Power Outages, BGE Official Says

UPDATE (7:43 p.m)—As of 7:40 p.m. Sunday, electrical power had been restored to about 2,500 homes and businesses in North Perry Hall, a Baltimore Gas and Electric official confirmed.

The widespread outages, between Schroeder Avenue and Honeygo Village Center, began shortly after 6 p.m. The traffic signal at Belair Road and Honeygo Boulevard lost power for about an hour, until shortly after 7 p.m.

Investigators believe the outages were caused by a single squirrel, which disrupted a piece of BGE equipment, according to BGE spokesman Rob Gould.

"This does happen sometimes," he said. "It was a wildlife-caused incident."

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UPDATE (7:18 p.m)—After about an hour-long outage, power was restored to the traffic signal at Belair Road and Honeygo Boulevard in Perry Hall Sunday evening.

Rob Gould, a Baltimore Gas and Electric spokesman, said about 2,500 customers had lost power shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, during the sudden outage in North Perry Hall. About 400 customers—including those affected on Schroeder Avenue—had been restored as of about 7:10 p.m., he said.

The remaining outages—including hundreds living in communities off Honeygo Boulevard—would likely be restored between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday, Gould said.

The cause of the outage remains under investigation, he added.

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UPDATE (6:35 p.m)—The traffic signal at Belair Road and Honeygo Boulevard in Perry Hall lost power shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, while residents in area neighborhoods reported widespread power outages, Baltimore County police confirmed.

Police said officers were en route to the Honeygo intersection as of 6:20 p.m. No obvious cause of the outages had been reported, police said.

Meanwhile, residents from Schroeder Avenue to the Fields At Perry Hall Farms community reported power outages.

Baltimore Gas and Electric officials were not immediately available for comment when contacted by Patch Sunday evening. The outages had not appeared on BGE's outage map as of 6:30 p.m.

Check Patch for updates.