A fish fell from the sky and sparked a brush fire that knocked out power, officials say

Independent

2 days ago

A brush fire that prompted a power outage in rural Canada broke out after an airborne fish dropped from the sky, say fire officials.
Firefighters were called out to the blaze near the village of Ashcroft, British Columbia. When they arrived, a handful of ranchers and employees from the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, a Canadian electric utility company, were actively fighting the flames.
Crews managed to tackle the fire using roughly 4,800 gallons of water. But it was the bizarre cause of the blaze that came as a surprise to crews.
'A quick investigation revealed the cause of this fire,' Ashcroft fire officials posted on Facebook on Thursday. 'It was determined to be a fish, yes, you read that right, the fish had an incredible journey, considering the river is 3km east from the point of origin.
'The fish had been dropped by a local osprey onto the hydro line causing embers to drop, along with the fish, to the dry grasses below. We do suspect by the size of the fish and the heat of the day probably caused the rather tired bird to drop its catch.
'Or another suspicion could be that it's tired of raw fish and wanted to give cooked a try. We may never know the answer, but it has been verified that our prime suspect sustained no injuries in the incident and is still flying at large.'
Ospreys are birds of prey that are often found, along with Bald Eagles, near lakes, rivers and shorelines throughout British Columbia. They usually nest in trees or tall structures and primarily feed on fish.
No one was harmed in the incident, but pictures showed a charred landscape where the blaze broke out.
At the end of the pun-filled post, the fire service thanked everyone who helped put out the fire.
'As always we like to thank the people that supported us today in this successful firefight,' Ashford Fire Rescue said.
'The employees from BC hydro, Ashcroft ranch, Dawson road maintenance, our fantastic dispatchers and the wonderful employers in Ashcroft that allow us to drop what we are doing and attend these calls, you, are what makes putting these fires out possible! Thank you all!'