flaming kamikaze squirrels falling from the sky!

in New Jersey:
Flaming squirrel ignites car in Bayonne
by N. Clark Judd
Thursday October 18, 2007, 7:29 PM


It's Rocky the Frying Squirrel!

A kamikaze squirrel fell from the sky and detonated a Bayonne woman's car yesterday, police said today.


Lindsey Millar, 23, and her brother, Tony, 22, were both home Wednesday at about 12:45 p.m. when Lindsey's car suddenly started burning outside their 42nd Street home.

Tony Millar said firefighters told them it was the work of a buck-toothed saboteur that had been gnawing on overhead power lines connected to a transformer directly above the 2006 Toyota Camry.

"The squirrel chewed through the wire, was set on fire, fell down directly to where the car was," Tony Millar said. "The squirrel, on fire, slid into the engine compartment and blew up the car.
"They're always coming around here, chewing through the garbage," he added.

Tony Millar says his sister was fully insured.

"It's something to laugh about once she has a new car," he said. "It's not funny yet."
Police said there were no injuries -- except for the squirrel, that is, which is dead.

The Millars' home is decorated for Halloween, complete with a tiny plastic tombstone on their front lawn. Tony Millar said the family will consider dedicating the tombstone to the squirrel, who was not named.

This is just days after a substation attack in Missouri:

An AmerenIP official says a squirrel got into the Mitchell Street substation early Saturday morning setting off a three hour power outage for a large part of the south side of Centralia. The company estimates 800 lost power when the damage occurred around eight Saturday morning. The squirrel set off a small explosion and fire when getting into the equipment.
a separate plot in Kentucky succeeded - for the third time!

Squirrel causes third power outage
Power went out in parts of Central campus at about 4 p.m. yesterday after a squirrel chewed through electrical wiring, according to university officials.

The outage occurred from Research Building 3, between the Kentucky Clinic and Scovel Hall on South Limestone Street, to around McVey Hall.

It is the third time this semester a squirrel chewing through wiring has led to power failure, said UK Associate Vice President for Facilities Bob Wiseman. The outages have occurred on each of the main campus' power grids.

"This is not uncommon, but it is uncommon for it to happen to all three power grids," Wiseman said.

UK is in the first stage of planning ways to stop squirrels from chewing through the wiring, Wiseman said.

"Ironically, we got more preliminary pricing on squirrel guards today," he said.

Another in Indiana:
Squirrel causes brief power outage, loud noise

STAFF REPORTS

What some people initially thought was a shotgun blast turned out to be a squirrel this morning on Lafayette's south side.

According to Duke Energy spokeswoman Angeline Protogere, a squirrel interfered with an electrical line near Beck Lane and 18th Street shortly before 8 a.m.

The squirrel caused a line fuse to blow, that shut down power for 11 area homes, she said.

According to Lafayette police, the loud noise created when the fuse blew sounded like a shotgun blast to some who reported it.

All power was restored by 8:51 a.m.

And even one in Canton, Ohio:

Squirrel causes power outage for an hour and a half
UPDATE: 11:13 AM, Tuesday, October 9, 2007
REPOSITORY STAFF REPORT
CANTON Power has been restored to the 1,700 homes and businesses that lost electricity when a squirrel was electrocuted at a power station on Whipple Avenue NW this morning.

The outage occurred at 10:18 a.m. and ended when repairs were completed at 11:56 a.m., said Shelly Haugh of the American Electric Power Co.

And apparently, they have already conquered England, according to a headline in the Yale Daily News that reads:
Gray squirrels went, saw, conquered England
and it appears Canada is the next target:

Squirrels invade Esquimalt home
--> -->By Keith Vass

News staff

Oct 12 2007

Grey squirrels are wreaking havoc on one Esquimalt homeowner and she's asking the township for help to control the critters.

"I feel like I'm under attack from them," said Judy Morton.

Morton has lived in her house on Rockcrest Avenue for five years and was just a few blocks away before that. The squirrels moved into the neighbourhood six or seven years ago and quickly took over, she said.

"Within two years of their first appearance, there were no red squirrels left at all."

The squirrels were attracted to her property by the Garry oaks that grow on it and large rocks they perch on.

Morton said she's spent $10,000 repairing damage the squirrels have done and installing heavy screens to keep them out of her house.

"I found all kinds of shredded insulation on the side of my house, they had gone in and just ripped it up," she said.

From there, the squirrels' next destination was the attic.

"It was totally amazing the damage they did. The plastic sheets were ripped off and the pink insulation was all in bits."

She hired a pest control company to come in and trap the squirrels. It caught four, but Morton said the problem hasn't gone away.

A neighbour, who Morton prefers not to name, told her she's trapped and drowned 37 squirrels in an effort to protect songbirds.

"I don't see them in the house, but I see them around in my garden and they're very, very busy and there's many of them," said Morton.

"I can hear them if they're on the roof. Of course, if there were any in the house, I would have the pest control people here immediately."

Peanut shells she's found lying around signal to her that people are feeding them.

"I think people have no idea (squirrels) can cause fires and all kinds of things besides getting into your house," said Morton.

Morton is looking to the town, the regional district and the province to control the infestation. She made a presentation to Esquimalt council Monday, but Morton said her calls to the Capital Regional District have not been returned.

Coun. Basil Boulton assured Morton her squirrel problem is no laughing matter, but said it's really outside of the town's jurisdiction.

But council did vote to ask the parks and recreation department to prepare a report on the situation.

Peter Pauwels, field supervisor with the Ministry of Environment's conservation officer service, said the province doesn't intervene with grey squirrel infestations, even though it is an invasive species.

"It's similar to rats and rabbits, it's really up to the homeowner," he said.

There have been no reports of rabies in the squirrel population, but because they could carry other diseases, it's best to hire professional trappers to catch the rodents, said Pauwels.

Once caught, destroying the animals is the only option. "Moving them around only spreads the problem," Pauwels said.

My dad even commented today on the number of squirrels in the area, complaining that they are tearing up his lawn. For all we know, they've already conquered Canada, and have crossed into Michigan already and are carrying out their diabolical plans as we speak.

also, these storms tonight are pretty cool. wish they were closer though.