Bird Blamed For Knocking Power Out To 18K In Desert

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — About 18,600 customers lost power for about 45 minutes Tuesday in the cities of Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage -- all because of a bird.

The electrical outage was reported at 10:44 a.m., and power was restored about 11:30 a.m., said Southern California Edison spokeswoman Mary Ann Milbourn.

"A bird got into our equipment," she said. "This is not uncommon."

Edison crews had to turn off an entire circuit powering a large swath of Cathedral City and Rancho Mirage in order for crews to fix the problem.

"Sometimes when these things happen, we have to take a large amount of customers immediately," Milbourn said. "People (then) get (power) restored in phases."

An employee at Cathedral City Hall said residents called complaining the power shutoff was affecting traffic on several major roadways, including Dinah Shore Drive, Ramon Road and Date Palm Drive.

— By City News Service