Power has been restored to all of the 36,000 customers who were affected by the massive fire this morning (Friday) at the Atchelitz electrical substation in Chiliwack, according to BC Hydro.
BC Hydro said 28,000 customers had their power restored within two hours of the fire, and remaining customers had their power back on at about 3 p.m.
BC Hydro said the transformer fire occurred just before 9 a.m. and, in order to control the blaze, the substation off Lickman Road was shut down, resulting in a power disruption to thousands of homes.
The agency said the damaged transformer holds approximately 115,000 litres of insulating oil, and an “intensive cleanup operation” is underway.
The agency said the cause is unconfirmed and is being investigated. A “spill response team” was on scene, and an environmental assessment team will look into the incident.
WorkSafe BC and the Ministry of Environment were also on site.
The fire, which was put out just before noon, sent a pall of smoke across Chilliwack and into Abbotsford. Twitter reports indicated that three explosions occurred at the site, and fire crews were called in from as far away as Richmond.
There were concerns that uncontained oil on the site could re-ignite, but that did not occur.
There were also concerns about the toxicity of the smoke. The City of Chilliwack posted an advisory on its website, suggesting residents stay inside, close their windows and turn off their furnaces.
However, just after 3 p.m., the fire department advised that the smoke had dissipated and it was safe to continue regular activities.
According to BC Hydro, all 12 employees that were in the substation were accounted for and confirmed safe. Four people were taken to hospital for assessment and then returned to work.
At the peak of the outage, 6,000 customers in the Abbotsford were without power, as well as 5,500 near the Abbotsford-Chilliwack border, and 24,500 in Chilliwack. Most of the outages occurred at about 9:30 or 10 a.m., with another 5,500 being impacted at about 11:30.
The Abbotsford campus of University of the Fraser Valley cancelled classes for the day, although power was later restored and classes were scheduled for the evening.
UFV Trades and Technology Centre in Chilliwack was shut down for the day, and was without power until later in the afternoon. It remained closed on Friday evening, and classes were cancelled on Saturday. Chilliwack North was open for Friday evening classes and the theatre production of Dead Man’s Cell Phone was still being presented.
The Atchelitz substation has six transformers and serves approximately 50,000 customers. It is located on farmland just east of Chilliwack near the intersection of Lickman Road and South Sumas Road.
– With files from the Chilliwack Progress
