Nearly 18,000 B.C. Hydro Customers Lose Power as East Kootenay Wildfires Force Evacuations

Lucas Tremblay

8/5/20262 min read

Nearly 18,000 B.C. Hydro customers across the East Kootenay region lost electricity Saturday evening after wildfires damaged parts of the utility’s electrical system.

B.C. Hydro said the outage affected customers in Golden, Parson, Radium Hot Springs, Athalmer, Fairmont Hot Springs, Canal Flats and surrounding communities.

Most customers remained without power for slightly more than a day, with service largely restored by Sunday night.

The outage unfolded as the nearby Wait Creek wildfire forced residents from their homes and emergency crews responded to several fires across the region.

Residents Watched Fire Spread Along Power Lines

Alex Ibbotson, who lives approximately two kilometres from where the Wait Creek wildfire began, said she and her boyfriend noticed smoke while making their usual trip into town.

“We had to turn around and go back to our house so that we could get on our Wi-Fi to report the fire,” Ibbotson said.

By the time they returned, she said the fire had already travelled several hundred metres along the power line.

“By about 4:20 or 4:30 [p.m.], the wildfire arrived. All of us just watched the fire hit the timber on the east side of the power line,” she said.

“It had gone under both sets of power lines.”

As of 11:20 a.m. Tuesday, the Wait Creek wildfire covered approximately 13.78 square kilometres and was burning about 25 kilometres north of Cranbrook, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

Outage Complicated Emergency Response

Loree Duczek, an information officer with the Regional District of East Kootenay’s emergency operations centre, said the outage occurred while crews were already managing evacuations and several active fires.

“We had residents that were being evacuated, other residents dealing with power outages,” Duczek said.

“It was just a very chaotic, dynamic and evolving situation on Saturday night.”

She said the widespread outage began approximately two hours after wildfires broke out across the region.

Evacuation orders were issued Saturday for communities around Ta Ta Creek and Wasa, approximately 20 kilometres south of Skookumchuk.

Tourists Stranded as Fuel Pumps Shut Down

The outage created additional challenges because it occurred during the region’s peak tourism season.

Duczek said some visitors were unable to leave because they did not have enough fuel to travel long distances and gas station pumps could not operate without electricity.

“There was no access to facilities. Restaurants and businesses had to close,” she said.

The outage also placed pressure on small rural water systems because electric pumps could not refill storage reservoirs.

Residents were asked to reduce non-essential water use, though Duczek said operators managed to maintain water service throughout the outage.

Damaged Transmission Structures Require Replacement

B.C. Hydro said inspections conducted during restoration efforts found that several transmission structures would need to be replaced.

Crews also worked to rebuild damaged distribution lines serving Golden and Invermere.

Those immediate restoration efforts were completed by Sunday night, and electricity had been restored to most affected customers, according to Duczek.

News

Stay updated with the latest BC news stories, subscribe to our newsletter today.

SUBSCRIBE

LINKS

Ethics