Reconnected: BC Hydro has restored power to nearly all customers impacted by McDougall Creek wildfire
Sept. 14, 2023 update
VANCOUVER: BC Hydro crews have restored power to about 90 per cent of the customers impacted by the McDougall Creek wildfire.
Over the past several weeks, more than 125 workers – both local crews and others from across the province – have worked to restore power to the 1,200 customers that lost power as a result of the wildfire. The McDougall Creek wildfire caused significant damage to the electrical infrastructure in the area – about 27 kilometres of power lines, 426 poles and 66 pieces of other equipment needed to be replaced.
Crews have replaced almost 400 poles and have restrung a significant portion of the damaged power lines. In addition to replacing the damaged infrastructure, they also participated alongside first responders and BC Wildfire Services in an extensive clean up effort to remove debris and vegetation from the impacted areas.
BC Hydro is offering support to customers impacted by the wildfires. Residential and commercial customers who were affected by an evacuation order are eligible to receive a credit for the electricity consumed for the duration of the time they’re out of their home, if the order was for five days or longer.
BC Hydro would like to extend a huge thank you to the community who has been so patient and supportive as crews have replaced the infrastructure to restore power, as well as local firefighters, first responders, BC Wildfire Services, First Nations and other stakeholders.
While the majority of work is complete, there is still some very complex work to go. BC Hydro hopes to have nearly every customer restored near the end of next week. The latest information on restoration efforts is available at bchydro.com/outages.
Sept. 7, 2023 update
VANCOUVER: BC Hydro crews have replaced more than 300 poles damaged by the McDougall Creek wildfire and expect to have about 170 additional customers restored on Friday.
The McDougall Creek wildfire caused significant damage to the electrical infrastructure in the area – about 27 kilometres of power lines, 426 poles and 66 pieces of other equipment needed to be replaced. About 125 workers have been working hard to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed by the wildfire.
Starting on Friday, crews will begin a staged approach to re-energize customers at the southern end of Westside Road, including Traders Cove. Once this is complete, nearly 80 per cent of those impacted will be restored. BC Hydro crews will continue restoration work over the weekend, and hope to restore power to the Pine Point area and the north end of Westside Road next week.
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. BC Hydro appreciates customers’ patience and is committed to keeping its customers up-to-date on restoration efforts. The latest information will be available at bchydro.com/outages.
Sept. 1, 2023 update
VANCOUVER: BC Hydro crews have made significant progress over the past few days, replacing nearly 130 power poles damaged by the McDougall Creek wildfire.
Significant resources have been mobilized to the region. There are about 120 workers on the ground working to replace damaged equipment in an effort to restore customers in West Kelowna. Steady progress will continue over the weekend. BC Hydro hopes to have a portion of customers on Westside Road restored by mid-next week.
While crews are making good progress, they are dealing with challenging terrain that makes restoration more complicated. In some areas, pole replacement requires drilling and hammering into rock, which can slow work down.
The McDougall Creek wildfire caused significant damage to the electrical infrastructure in the area – about 27 kilometres of power lines, 359 poles and 66 pieces of other equipment needed to be replaced.
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. BC Hydro appreciates customers’ patience and is committed to keeping its customers up-to-date on restoration efforts. The latest information will be available at bchydro.com/outages.
Aug. 29, 2023 update
VANCOUVER: BC Hydro has significantly increased the numberof workers on the ground over the past couple of days, and work to rebuild the damaged infrastructure is well underway with about 70 per cent of those impacted restored.
The McDougall Creek wildfire caused significant damage to the electrical infrastructure in the area –about 27 kilometres of power lines, 359 poles and 66 pieces of other equipmentwill need to be replaced.
Dozens of additional workers have arrived in the area, and BC Hydro will continue to send more resources as needed. With the additional support on the ground, work is expected to ramp up significantly in the coming days.
To date, BC Hydro has replaced 40 power poles, and has dug about 150 holes in preparation for placing additional poles. About a dozen spans of wire have already been restrung.
Power has been restored to about 70 per cent of the 1,200 customers impacted. BC Hydro crews are working hard to restore power to the remaining 400 customers.
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. BC Hydro appreciates customers’ patience as it works to restore power and iscommitted to keeping its customers up-to-date on restoration efforts.
The latest information will be available at bchydro.com/outages.
Large mobilization of crews and material to aid power restoration in West Kelowna
Aug. 26, 2023
VANCOUVER: BC Hydro has been actively working to mobilize dozens of crews and the material and equipment needed to aid in the extensive restoration work underway as a result of the damage from the McDougall Creek wildfire.
Since the fire started, BC Hydro has been working closely with the BC Wildfire Service, first responders and local governments. Over the past week, it has mobilized dozens of crews – power line technicians and vegetation crews – to support with removing damaged equipment and debris, and clearing vegetation.
A full damage assessment is complete, and the damage is extensive. About 27 kilometres of power lines, 346 poles and 66 pieces of other equipment will need to be replaced.
Today, there are 35 workers in the area supporting the restoration work, and by Monday, there will be 85 workers on the ground. BC Hydro will continue to evaluate the number of people needed to support the rebuild and will bring in additional resources as needed.
To date, crews have restored power to about 600 customers in the area. However, at this time, it is too early to say when power will be restored to the remaining 600 impacted customers.
Going forward, BC Hydro will be prioritizing restoring power to critical infrastructure like water and wastewater plants, medical facilities and communications sites. Crews will also be looking for ways to get the largest number of customers restored as safely and quickly as possible.
BC Hydro understands this is an extremely difficult time for the community, and it is working hard to restore power to impacted customers, but it will take time. BC Hydro is assigning all available BC Hydro crews and contractor crews to this work, including bringing in crews from other areas of the province that have not been impacted by recent wildfire activity, as well as crews from Fortis.
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. BC Hydro appreciates customers’ patience as it works to restore power and is committed to keeping its customers up-to-date on restoration efforts. The latest information will be available at bchydro.com/outages.
BC Hydro is also offering support to customers impacted by the wildfires. Residential and commercial customers who are affected by an evacuation order are eligible to receive a credit for the electricity consumed for the duration of the time they’re out of their home, if the order is for five days or longer. More information about support to customers impacted by the wildfires can be found on the BC Hydro website.
Contact:
BC Hydro Media Relations
e. media@bchydro.com
p. 604 928 6468