A wildfire that scorched several power poles east of Grand Forks, leading to a power outage, has been extinguished.
According to Grand Forks Fire Rescue, their crews were called around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday to a wildfire at Gilpin Forest Service Road and Highway 3 that measured about 100 by 500 feet (30 by 150 meters) by the time they arrived.
They called in extra members and equipment, as well as mutual aid from Christina Lake Fire Rescue and the BC Wildfire Service.
In a Facebook post, they said the fire was showing rank 3 behaviour, which is described as a fire moving at moderate speed that wouldn’t likely be contained by hand-built control lines.
Crews sprayed 1,000 gallons (3,700 litres) of water to slow the fire’s spread. BC Wildfire crews on their way back from another incident then joined in the fight, along with a helicopter.
The fire burned FortisBC poles connected to transmission lines directly above the fire. The fire department asked that power be shut off to all three lines while they put the fire out.
“We apologize for any inconveniences that the power outage may have caused, but it was absolutely necessary for safety and to prevent additional damage to the system that could have resulted in an even longer outage,” the fire department said.
FortisBC crews assessed the damage and returned to the scene this morning to do repairs, although they will need to do additional work over the next couple of months, the fire department said.
While the fire was contained last evening, firefighters from Grand Forks and BC Wildfire returned to the scene this morning to continue with mop-up.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Grand Forks Fire Rescue said the electrical distribution system was not part of the cause.
