Bird's Nest Blaze Causes Hundreds To Lose Power On LI

LINDENHURST, NY — Firefighters extinguished a blaze that broke out in an innocent but ill-placed bird's nest that caused nearly 800 PSEG Long Island customers to lose power on Saturday night.

After West Babylon firefighters and Suffolk police responded to a transformer fire in Lindenhurst around 8 p.m., crews discovered that a monk parakeet nest caused the fire on top of "electric switching equipment."

The fire affected 761 PSEG customers for around two hours and 231 others for a "little more than an hour," PSEG's Elizabeth Flagler told Patch.

"The fire also damaged the equipment, which will need to be replaced," Flagler added.

According to Flagler, monk parrot nests on electric systems are a "known hazard." One that's actually so common, PSEG has a "mitigation process in place" to monitor and attempt to remove nests before they become a hazard to themselves and the electric system."

"We try to remove nests between October and April, which is outside the birds' breeding season," Flager said. "When removing a nest, our crews ensure that all birds have flown away before the work begins."

However, Flager said the utility company's "first responsibility is to provide our customers with safe and reliable electric service."

According to a monk parakeet fact sheet PSEG shared with Patch, the birds are also known as Quaker parrots—small, brightly colored birds that are native to South America.

"While beautiful in appearance, they are invasive species reportedly capable of doubling in population every 7.5 years," the fact sheet reads.

But there's more. PSEG says the birds prefer to build their "massive nests" atop power poles, "threatening electric reliability for all PSEG Long Island customers."

Because the nests are "communal" and don't house just one bird, they can grow to 10 feet in diameter and weigh "hundreds" of pounds. When they "expand around electrical equipment," they can cause power outages and fires, as seen in Lindenhurst over the weekend.