Several Missoula neighborhoods experienced a brief power outage around 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning.

NorthWestern Energy spokesman Tom Glanzer tells us that a squirrel walked across a pole transmitter located at 107 North Avenue West, setting off sparks.

The incident resulted in the power system's built-in safety precautions to kick in and turned off power briefly for residents in that area.

Glanzer adds that crews are still on the scene trying to determine exactly what happened and that no damage was caused to nearby residences.