Residents of Ashcroft, British Columbia received a surprise on July 30 when they suddenly lost power in the middle of the day. The culprit was a small brush fire burning near a power line on the east side of Highway 1, south of town. But what started the fire was all the more surprising: a falling fish.
More specifically, an osprey dropped a fish onto the power lines, causing them to spark into the grass below and ignite the small blaze, according to a Facebook post written by Ashcroft Fire Rescue. By the time members of Ashcroft Fire Rescue, BC Hydro, Dawson Road Maintenance, and local ranchers put the fire out, it had burned almost an acre of land. Responders used approximately 4,800 gallons of water on an area that measured 60 by 90 meters, which equates to about 1.3 acres.
The osprey likely pulled the fish from the Thompson River, some two miles from the scene of the fire. “We do suspect the size of the fish and the heat of the day probably caused the rather tired bird to drop its catch,” the post reads, also joking that perhaps the bird had grown tired of raw fish and wanted to cook it instead. “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.”
The southern half of British Columbia has faced minor to moderate drought conditions through the summer, according to the B.C. Drought Portal. If something as coincidental as a bird dropping a fish in the wrong place can spark a brush fire, all the more reason to watch out for more common—and preventable—ignition events like flicked cigarettes, loose tow chains, and illicit campfires.
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While this small blaze didn't take a devastating turn, which responders chalk up to a lack of wind, other fires burning across northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba are sending plumes of smoke into the midwestern and northeastern U.S., triggering severe air quality alerts.
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