Business came to a standstill and traffic slowed to a crawl after a power outage hit a busy commercial district in Auburn Wednesday afternoon, but power has since been restored.

The outage was caused by a squirrel getting caught in a transformer, New York State Electric & Gas reported. About 2,100 properties in the area were affected.

Auburn police were directing traffic along a busy stretch of Grant Avenue on the city's east side after a power failure knocked businesses and traffic lights out of commission at about 1 p.m.

Officers with warning flares stood at intesections, alternately waving motorists through in different directions.

Workers at area restaurants and shops were seen standing outside their darkened establishments, as some businesses were forced to turn customers away.

At 2 p.m. the NYSEG Web site listed dozens of Auburn roads as having affected by the outage, as well as several in Weedpsort.