Emergency services have responded to an electrical substation fire in Midway, west of Grand Forks, this morning, April 23.
Fortis BC Chief Communications Officer Nicole Brown said that they became aware of the blaze just before 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Brown said originally, roughly 1,000 customers in Midway, Greenwood and the surrounding area were without power. As of Tuesday afternoon, 340 homes and businesses remain without power.
“The fire is out now, it was put out earlier today. Our crews are now assessing the damage and working to put a temporary transformer in place, and once that’s done they’ll be able to restore power to the remaining customers.”
Brown said Fortis BC hopes to have all power restored by midnight.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown, but Brown said the incident is a good reminder to the public on the imporantance of being prepared for power outages.
“Although all the fire was contained within the substation in this case, it’s always a good reminder to people that if you do notice any damaged equipment, it’s important to stay safe and be prepared for outages because although they don’t happen too often, they do still happen.”
The village of Midway is now on water restrictions until power is restored.
With the power outage, the water pumps are down as well. Please limit water usage as much as possible to ensure there is enough water for fire suppression purposes.
Something going on in your part of the Kootenays you think people should know about? Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].