A grass fire at the base of a power pole in West Kelowna was quickly doused by firefighters on Wednesday.
West Kelowna Fire Rescue (WKFR) said it was alerted to the fire off Boucherie Road following multiple reports around 11:30 a.m., and that the grass fire was growing when crews arrived.
Thirteen firefighters from WKFR’s Westbank, Lakeview Heights and Rose Valley stations extinguished the fire.
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WKFR says the fire is under investigation, but that preliminary indications are that the cause may be electrical in nature.
The fire caused an outage that affected 3,520 customers. According to BC Hydro’s power outage map, crews are on site trying to restore power.
The fire department also thanked “the numerous members of the public who called to report the fire and then took it upon themselves to try and stop the spread. One civilian sustained smoke inhalation while doing so and was treated by paramedics.”
WKFR reminded the public that conditions are in the Okanagan are dry and that fires have the potential to rapidly grow.
If you see any signs of smoke or fire, you are asked to call 911 immediately.