The massive wildfire burning near Rock Creek and the two major fires burning in the South Okanagan have caused rolling power outages, as countless power lines were downed and power poles were burnt to the ground.
Photo Credit: FortisBC Twitter.
Although much of Rock Creek, Beaverdell, and Christian Valley are now back up and running thanks to generators, there are still several areas that are powerless and Fortis BC is working as fast as they can to get the lights back on for everyone.
“There are as many as 10 line construction crews replacing poles and conductors and additional brushing and falling crews working in advance to clear trees,” said Fortis BC Corporate Communications Advisor Nicole Bogdanovic. “We are also working with other Fortis Inc. companies such as FortisAlberta to bring in the necessary materials.”
Photo Credit: contributed.
In Rock Creek, crews continue to rebuild the 10-kilometre main line between Rock Creek and Westbridge. Working step-by-step, Fortis BC will restore permanent service to customers via temporary diesel-generated power after the main line is complete.
Meanwhile in Oliver, the main transmission line sustained significant damage during the Wilson Mountain fire. Moreover, Fortis BC is currently waiting for emergency officials to give the safety clear before crews can access the damaged area to conduct repairs. Luckily however, no customers have been impacted.
As crews continue to repair the damage caused by these fires, customers are asked to be patient.
“We have multiple departments throughout our organization working closely together to restore permanent service to impacted customers as quickly as possible,” said Bogdanovic. “A project of this scope would normally take a month or more to construct, plus require additional time in planning and procurement.”
Fortis BC is also urging those customers running on generators to reduce their power use. For customers dealing with damaged property, contact Fortis BC directly.
Service alert: Customers with property impacts from #RockCreekFire asked contact cus. serv. at 1-866-436-7847 #BCWildFire
— FortisBC (@FortisBC) August 18, 2015
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