Electrocuted Squirrel Starts Grass Fire

Monday, October 31, 2005 7:06:14 PM

BYRAM, Miss. (AP) - An electric lineman believes a squirrel started a grass fire Monday after the critter was electrocuted and fell from a power line onto parched ground.

It's been more than a month since significant amounts of rain have fallen in central Mississippi, though some showers were expected late Monday. Burn bans are in effect in this Jackson suburb and many other nearby communities.

Passing motorists saw a flash and heard a loud pop, then saw ashes falling from the power line. The spark ignited a grassfire, which spread to nearby pine trees and charred a fence. Byram volunteer firefighters responded within minutes.

An Entergy lineman arrived as the flames were extinguished and found the probable cause of the fire — the squirrel's charred body.

One of the motorists, Calvin Russell told Jackson's WLBT-TV: "I'm a country boy, so I'm thinking dinner time."