An Okanagan BC Hydro worker got a surprise jolt of excitement Friday while working up a power pole from an unexpected flash of electricity.
The utility was called to McGinnis road in West Kelowna at about 12 p.m., where a malfunctioning transformer was arcing.
That created a ripple effect, apparently causing a power surge at a nearby home.
The surge ignited a fire in home’s electrical panel, which was spread into a wall.
“What we found is fire behind the wall so we had hydro come out right away and turn the power off,” said assistant fire captain, Brent Watson. “Our crews, as you can see, are pulling the wall and extinguishing the fire.”
It’s not known what caused the transformer to start arcing. The damage to the home was not too serious and no one was injured.