DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — Decatur Utilities (DU) says a power outage early Friday morning that affected over 14,000 people had an unlikely cause – ‘a very lengthy snake.’

In a post on social media, DU said a power outage occurred around midnight on Friday and caused around 14,275 customers to lose power, primarily in the eastern half of Decatur.

After an investigation, the utility company said the cause was found to be a very lengthy snake.

DU said the snake entered the Decatur Primary Substation, came into contact with energized equipment and caused the station’s protective breaker to go off. In turn, DU said the incident knocked out other distribution substations.

DU added that outages can be reported through its SmartHub app or by calling 256-552-1400. Decatur Utilities Outages can be monitored by visiting the utility’s outage map here.