A power pole fire that downed a transformer causing a relatively brief blackout in Sundre’s downtown core on the afternoon of Thursday, May 10 created a bit of stir.
A smouldering fire started on a power pole behind the V & S building, eventually leading the transformer to completely collapse. Fortis posted on its online outage map that the ensuing power outage affected 1,286 customers.
Sundre Fire Department members arrived quickly on the scene and cordoned off about a block of Centre Street North from the Main Avenue intersection, where east- and westbound motorists navigated through carefully in the absence of functioning traffic lights.
Numerous witnesses took in the scene along the west side of Centre Street.
Shannon Scott and Rosie Church were inside the former Little Country Cappuccino building working on renovations and chatting with a sales rep in preparation for opening a new coffee shop when the situation started to unfold some time before 2 p.m.
Shannon’s husband Randy was leaving the shop when he rushed back in to warn them about the hazard. Upon stepping outside to have a look, she said black smoke was spewing from the power pole.
“A hole had burned through the pole — you could see directly through the pole,” said Church.
“The moment we turned our backs for two seconds, all we heard was the noises of the sparks, turned around and it just blew up.”
Shannon added the transformer went down quickly in flames.
“It made a godawful sound — few sizzles and cracks and pops.”
That was about when they were directed to evacuate to the other side of the street, from where they watched the rest of the response.
Meanwhile, over at Centre Street Video, owner Cassie Milewicz kept the doors open throughout the temporary power interruption.
“I still have people returning movies,” said Milewicz.
Although she did not expect to process any transactions while the power was out, Milewicz said she would have been prepared to, if needed, proceed manually by making a note of rentals and later putting them in the computer.
“I can just write everything down. It’s not a huge big deal, but it just goes to show how reliant on power we are,” she said.
“We’re still open for business.”
The silver lining, she added, was that despite the weather there was no rain making the electric hazard even more dangerous for the crews who responded.
As she was speaking with the Round Up, power was restored just before 2:20 p.m.
Alana Antonelli, Fortis Alberta manager of communications, said during a phone interview that the incident was reported at about 1:50 p.m. and that the downed transformer resulted in approximately 1,300 customers in the Sundre area losing power.
“We had everyone except for four customers restored to power by 2:15 p.m.”
Pole fires such as this are not uncommon at this time of year, she said, adding a compromised insulator that had broken down caused the blowout.
“Damp conditions, fog, drizzling rain, wet snow can all cause a pole to light up like a match,” she said.
“That’s what happened in this instance.”
Generally speaking, crews are able to reroute power from another source to restore service to customers fairly quickly. However, she said the four customers who remained without power had to wait a bit longer until the pole was replaced.
Replacing a pole following such an occurrence can take an average of a couple of hours, she added.
Anyone who witnesses a similar situation is urged to stay away at a safe distance and immediately call 310-9473 (WIRE), she said.
