UPDATE: BC Hydro says the fire at a Lickman Road substation is out and power has been restored to all 30,000 customers affected in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
It says it "de-energized the substation, which resulted in the disruption of power to customers in the Chilliwack, Atchelitz and Sumas areas."
One person was taken to hospital. The investigation into what caused the fire won't start until next week, but BC Hydro says crews will spend the weekend cleaning up a small oil spill at the substation. The transformer contains about 115,000 litres of oil and because the site is on a slight slope, some of it spilled into a nearby creek. The company says it has been contained.
BC Hydro's David Lebeter says no one was hurt, even though there were people working nearby.
"There were 12 employees on site, but I don't know how near they were," he says. "Anytime you have a fire at an industrial site it has the potential to be very serious. We were very fortunate that everyone was well trained and responded appropriately."
Earlier:
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) - A fire at a BC Hydro substation on Lickman Road in Chilliwack has knocked power out for most of the city.
"[It has] really wreaked havoc with power, traffic lights, and road closures," explains RCMP Const. Tracy Wolbeck, who adds no one is hurt.
Dustin called
News1130, telling us it's a big fire. "The whole sky is black. Black as night."
"There are big flames shooting out. Smoke is pretty visible; it's all black smoke coming across," says Bob, who gave us a call from a few kilometres away.
"It looked like the fire department was getting it under control for a bit. There was some white smoke, then another explosion and more black plumes of smoke blotting out the sun," describes News1130's Mike Hellinger from the scene.
At its peak, there were over 30,000
BC Hydro customers without power in Abbotsford and Chilliwack.
"We have no idea how long this is going to be going for. Some people
have said they might not have their power back today. Then there are
other parts of Chilliwack that already have power back," says Hellinger.
Lickman Road is closed between Keith Wilson and South Sumas. RCMP are telling drivers to be extra careful moving through intersections.