Squirrel Suspect Identified in Power Outage – “Sizzles” Goes Out in Style Causing $15,000 in Damage 

Centre- Recently, WEIS posted about the widespread power outage that affected nearly 2,000 Cherokee Electric Cooperative customers in Centre on Sunday morning.

https://weisradio.com/2025/06/30/critter-causes-chaos-power-outage-hits-nearly-2000-in-centre/

Now, we’ve got more details — including the identity of the suspect and video footage of the exact moment the chaos began.

You may have heard of Sparky, the squirrel who makes his grand appearance in Piedmont every New Year’s Eve. But Centre had its own star this week — one who went out in a literal blaze of glory. Meet Sizzles, now officially Centre’s most wanted (and no longer breathing) squirrel.

According to Randal Wilkie with Cherokee Electric, Sizzles managed to cause roughly $15,000 in damage when he interfered with electrical equipment.

Security footage captured the moment of the furry felon’s fiery misstep, which resulted in a brief but dramatic power failure across the area.