By Adam Hollingworth
This bird woke up Whangaparoa but not with its squawking.
“The young person came up from downstairs to say he'd heard what sounded like the back of a truck behind dragged down a street,” says Whangaparoa resident Mark Thomas.
The bird had shorted three 11,000 volt cables and eight transformers.
Neighbours in Swan Beach Road saw the Mollyhawk take off into the early morning sun.
It hit two overhead powerlines causing green and white sparks, then there was a loud bang.
Loud enough to send people outside 500 metres away.
“Went outside to see where the bang was, looked around to see there was a powerline down between two poles here,” says Whangaparoa resident Geoff Peapell.
“Thinking that they're 10,000 KVA volts running through the lines and they're normally harmless until they're grounded but with them touching the ground, yeah they're live and I've seen electricity jump from lines and I've only been a few feet away - it's not something you want to stand around and watch happen,” says Mr Thomas.
Emergency workers were quick to make the wires safe but it took Vector Energy eight hours to restore power to the last 200 affected homes.
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