Shag blamed for BoP power outage

The shag which hit powerlines, causing an outage to part of the Bay of Plenty was 'completely cooked'. Photo / Thinkstock

A bird that was zapped when it landed on power lines in the Bay of Plenty town of Judea is believed to be responsible for knocking power out to homes and businesses yesterday.

The shag appeared to have exploded in a fireball when it landed on the lines above the wetlands/wildness area.

Power was cut and a scrub fire started just after 5.30pm.

Tauranga senior station officer Phil Price said industrial workers in the area said they had heard a large bang and 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.