Shag blamed for power outage

A bird that was zapped when it landed on power lines in Judea is believed to be responsible for knocking power out to potentially hundreds of homes and businesses on Monday.

The shag appeared to have exploded in fire when it landed on the lines above a wetlands/wildness area at the end of Koromiko St. Tauranga firefighters were called to the area at 5.50pm, when scrub caught fire shortly after.

Senior station officer Phil Price said industrial workers in the area at the time said they had heard a large bang. They called 111 when they noticed fire.

Burning debris from the shag landed in the dry scrub area.

"The shag was completely cooked," Mr Price said.

"It was lying on the ground. It had obviously perched on a high tension part of the lines."

Power was cut to the Waihi Rd, Judea and industrial area at the time.

No one from Powerco was available to comment at press time on the cause of the power cuts.