Cortes Island was hit by a windstorm on Oct.10 that knocked some roadside trees on power lines by the late afternoon, causing intermittent power outages, and fires on the island.

The Cortes Island Volunteer Fire Department (CIVFD) received their first call of the evening at 5:45 p.m. There was a power line down, causing a small wildfire in the Tiber Bay neighborhood. This area of Cortes island is not a part of the Fire Protection Zone that the CIVFD is responsible for, creating challenging circumstances for both the residents and the fire department. 

“There were two very large trees down on primary lines 14,400 volt lines and a smoldering fire below the trees,” said Fire Chief David Ives, describing the scene on Oct. 10. 

Ives stressed the magnitude of danger surrounding downed BC Hydro lines, explaining the likelihood of the power lines getting turned back on after an outage is almost inevitable, if BC Hydro is unaware of the damage in the immediate aftermath of a storm.

CIVFD was eventually able to connect with the BC Hydro team that was already on-island working to repair various lines down. Ives said he also had to coordinate with BC Wildfire Services in order to gain permission to fight the fire, since it was outside of the CIVFD’s jurisdiction.

CIVFD managed to put out the fire but, by the time Ives returned home to have Thanksgiving dinner, a second call was reported about another line down in Tiber Bay causing a second fire. When the units arrived in Tiber Bay, they were blocked by BC Hydro workers tending to a third fire caused by lines down, Ives said. Once it was safe to pass, the CIVFD split their unit, keeping volunteers at the fire with BC Hydro workers, and sending a crew to the second fire reported. 

“Which luckily was a fire that was small enough in nature that it had extinguished itself by the time we got there.” Ives said. “Had the conditions been dryer or windier or the opposite wind, [it] could be a different story.”

All the fires were extinguished, no one was injured and no buildings were damaged, but many trees were lost to the windstorm.

The scenario highlighted some concerns for Cortes residents. The Tiber Bay community has been very aware of their exclusion from the fire protection zone. According to a staff report from the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) from January 2020, several residents in Tiber Bay requested that the area be included in the Fire Protection Zone. Due to the nature and upkeep of the roads, the SRD did not include the area, noting that is not serviceable by the CIVFD.

According to Ives, the fire department has continued concerns on unreported lines downed on the island during weather events, and warns the public to be safe in future storm situations.

“Unless there is an obvious cause reported for the failure, it's BC Hydro's position to reset. So I can't stress this enough: plan on that line becoming live again, you shouldn't be anywhere near that line in an emergency in your vehicle—a ‘not getting out’ situation. The closest you should ever be—very seriously, taking your life in your hands—is as far away as the pole is tall. That's the hot zone.”

CKTZ's contacted BC Hydro for comment but they did not respond ahead of publication.

To hear more about Ives account of the fires, listen to the CKTZ News Update below: