Update: 4:50 p.m.
Vernon Fire Rescue Services has cleared the scene having eliminated all hot spots in the Adventure Bay Road area, where a hydro pole caught fire.
BC Hydro is reporting additional outages in the neighbouring area. Ninety customers are affected south of Tronson Road and west of Foster Road, caused by a tree down across wires just before 4 p.m.
Another 290 have been in the dark west of Goldclaim Road since 3:45 p.m. The cause of that outage is under investigation.
Crews are on site at all three outages, which total more than 430 affected customers.
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Original:
The lights are out and a road beside Okanagan Lake in Vernon is blocked off after a power pole caught fire Saturday afternoon.
Vernon Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) responded to the 8700 block of Adventure Bay Road, off Tronson Road south of Kin Beach, around 2:30 p.m. June 5, where a large eagle’s nest is likely to have triggered an electrical fire having fallen onto BC Hydro equipment, according to a firefighter on scene.
An area resident at the scene said he’d previously noticed the large nest.
The power outage affects 53 BC Hydro customers in the 8700-8800 block of Adventure Bay Road, which is currently closed as VFRS crews await BC Hydro’s arrival.
A thin veil of smoke could be seen down the road from the traffic control line as crews tackled grass fires smouldering in the area.
More to come.
READ MORE: Fire destroys 5 structures along Okanagan Lake
READ MORE: Canada may see more ‘zombie fires’ as climate warms and winters shorten
