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BC Hydro looks back at 2017’s most bizarre calls

BC Hydro says heat wave might break electricity consumption use record this summer.
BC Hydro says heat wave might break electricity consumption use record this summer.

Always be prepared because power outages are unpredictable, according to BC Hydro.

Spokesperson Tanya Fish explains that the teams have seen some unusual cases during 2017.

“800 customers in Yaletown plunged into darkness on a busy Friday evening after some party balloons got caught up in a power line and our crews had to respond to the area, remove those balloons and get power back for those customers so they could get back to their evening.”

READ MORE: Fraser Valley homes still without power on New Year’s Day following ice storm

Fish says another example is one story from Northern B.C., in the community of Hixon.

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“A beaver actually gnawed through a tree, and that tree ended up falling on a power line, which then caused an outage.”

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She says the community was without power for a couple of hours while crews replaced the equipment.

“Thankfully the beaver was okay, it was a wooden pole, so it doesn’t conduct electricity like a metal one would.”

“The most bizarre call was the thieves that actually cut down power poles with a chainsaw in Prince George last summer. [They] wanted to steal the copper wire from a transformer,” added Fish. “So this is obviously incredibly dangerous, they put themselves and as well as the public at huge risk. Thankfully no one was hurt, but it’s just a reminder of you know, the dangers of electricity and, you know, not to do silly things like that.”

READ MORE: BC Hydro to credit evacuees for power used while forced from their homes

Fish says the most memorable incident however was “Mother Nature’s Fury” in the summer, when the wildfires spread across the Central and Southern Interior.

She says the fires left 61,000 people without power.

Fish says always be prepared by having an emergency kit that includes a flashlight, extra batteries, first-aid kit, non-perishable foods and bottled water.

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