Columbia Valley Pioneer Staff
The St. Mary’s River wildfire has grown rapidly and now poses a risk to a transmission line between Cranbrook and Invermere, according to BC Hydro.
In the event of damage to this line, BC Hydro says it won’t have enough capacity to meet the electricity needs of customers in Invermere, Golden, Radium Hot Springs, and Spillimacheen.
“We’re asking customers in these areas to prepare for possible power outages. If this does occur, our priority will be to continue to power essential services such as hospitals, fire halls and police stations,” the utility says.
BC Hydro continues to work with the BC Wildfire Service to protect its electrical equipment and take steps to reduce the risk of further damage to poles through grubbing ahead of the fire.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep this line in service,” BC Hydro says.
Learn about how to prepare for an outage at:
https://ow.ly/rAJ850PiH4M
I don’t know who in BC Hydro gave this information. Checking BC Hydro Transmission System Diagram, there is a 240 kV transmission line 2L259 interconnecting Kinbasket hydro generation with Invermere substation near Lilian Lake. From that substation a double circuit 72kV line 60L271 and 60L272 interconnects Invermere substation with the Althalmer substation, located close to HWY 93/95 on Invermere access road. Having said that, I would like someone from BC Hydro to explain how or why a fire near Cranbrook would black out the whole Columbia Valley from Cranbrook to Golden.
This information was taken from the BC Hydro Facebook page.
Well, you can contact BC Hydro to get an explanation. I work at the Canadian Tire and people are buying power generator because of the blackout news.