Animal contact with transformer reported to have sparked fire at Celina solar farm substation
EIR-0889Other entries that name Celina
Provisional entry. Confirmed by one local news report: a fire at a solar field substation west of Celina, Ohio on 9 May 2019, attributed to animal contact with a transformer, with a brief city-wide outage and about a ninety minute emergency response; the operator, owner, equipment damage and any official cause finding are not reported. Next update: 17 September 2026.
At about 6:30am on 9 May 2019, an animal is reported to have entered a substation at a solar field west of Celina, Ohio, on Meyer Road near State Route 29, and come into contact with a transformer. A local news report says this caused a fire and a very short city-wide power outage, with a momentary disturbance also registered on the DP&L system that supplies Celina's electricity feed. Video of the fire was shared locally. The Celina Fire Department and Celina Utilities were on the scene for about an hour and a half. No injuries were reported. The damage was described by the report as quite substantial, and no cost estimate was available at the time. No official investigation findings have been published.
The single local report attributes the fault and fire to an animal gaining access to the substation and contacting a transformer. It does not say how the animal entered or whether animal deterrents were in place, and no official cause determination has been reported.
- Substation and transformer enclosures at solar sites benefit from effective animal exclusion measures, as small animal contact is a recurring cause of transformer faults.
- Routine inspection of enclosure and barrier integrity can reduce the risk of wildlife-related faults.
- Clear coordination between site operators, the local utility and the fire service supports rapid response when an equipment fault also disturbs the wider grid.
Published 2026-09-16. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.