Lights are Out in Parts of Carteret

The lights went out in a section of Carteret around 10:30 today, borough police confirmed.

About 80 people in the Elmwood Avenue section were affected by the power outage, as well as homeowners on Louis, Jersey, and State Streets, according to  spokeswoman Rena Esposito.

The power company, which is on the scene, said that a fuse is out in the area. They anticipate that the power will be turned on again around noon.

There was some speculation that the outage could've been caused by contact by a squirrel to the electrical equipment. Esposito said she didn't know if that was the case, but that animal contact with power lines and transformer boxes occasionally does cause problems with the power grid.

"We do have animal control measures on the equipment to mitigate animal contacts," she said. "But animals are smart. They sometimes figure out ways around it."