Calling it significant progress, BC Hydro says work crews have now replaced around 250 power poles damaged by wildfires in the Southern Interior.
In the Central Okanagan, the power company says nearly 130 poles damaged by the McDougall Creek wildfire have been replaced. Around 120 workers are on scene, where 359 power poles are damaged.
And in the Shuswap, site of the massive Bush Creek East wildfire and 430 damaged power poles, crews there have also replaced 130 of them. Approximately 150 workers are in the area.
“While crews are making good progress, they are dealing with challenging terrain that makes restoration more complicated,” said BC Hydro.
“In some areas, pole replacement requires drilling and hammering into rock, which can slow work down.”
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Despite these challenges, BC Hydro says it hopes to have a portion of customers on Westside Road restored by mid-next week. In the Shuswap, power is expected to be restored to many impacted customers over the next week.
“Power will be restored in segments as the rebuild work is completed,” said BC Hydro.
Each fire is said to have damaged around 27 kilometres of power lines and 66 pieces of equipment.
“The safety of the public, crews and first responders has been and will continue to be BC Hydro’s top priority as it works to repair the extensive damage caused by the wildfire,” said the company.
“BC Hydro appreciates customers’ patience and is committed to keeping its customers up-to-date on restoration efforts.”
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