Thousands of homes and businesses across the Northern Beaches were plunged into darkness last night after a mother flying fox and her baby became tangled in power lines, triggering an explosion that cut electricity to parts of Manly, Fairlight and the CBD.
The outage occurred at around 9.45pm, leaving more than 3,000 properties without power.
Emergency Veterinarian Dr Tim Hopkins from SASH 24/7 Emergency Vets in Balgowlah said his colleague, Dr Justin Wimpole, an internal medicine specialist, witnessed the explosion from his home in Fairlight.
“One of our veterinarians in Fairlight was watching TV and there was a loud explosion,” Dr Hopkins said.
“They noticed that there was a power outage. They also clocked that there was a flying fox sadly entangled in the power lines.”
Working with the fire brigade and Ausgrid staff member Adrian, the team was able to safely retrieve the body of the mother flying fox and the baby, which was still alive.
“The baby was assessed as being healthy, was treated for any discomfort, any shock, and eventually was able to be taken by Sydney Wildlife for rehabilitation,” Dr Hopkins said.
He reminded members of the public not to approach or handle flying foxes unless they are aware of their lyssavirus status.
