Osoyoos Fire Department attend the scene of a burning power pole in the alley behind Main Street near 87 Avenue on May 12.
Dale Boyd
Osoyoos Times
An explosion heard in the downtown area of Osoyoos was the result of a falling transformer from a power pole Tuesday morning.
Osoyoos Fire Department responded to a call about a burning power pole, likely caused by an electrical short according to the local fire chief.
“When I got on scene I could 55 per cent of the upright diameter of the pole had been burnt through. Obviously something shorted and had burned away for a considerable time,” said Dave McMahon, Osoyoos Fire Chief.
Fire crews secured the area and contacted tenants of nearby businesses to move their vehicles away from the power pole when the transformer attached to the power pole fell.
“While we were doing all of that one of the transformers sort of fell loose with a loud explosion,” McMahon said. “The power is down, but it’s safe.”
“It’s quite a spectacular explosion when that happens, so lots of people in the public are asking what’s going on.”
FortisBC is on scene, McMahon said, and the fire department remains on scene as the power pole is still compromised.
