In a highly unusual incident, officials in British Columbia discovered that a small wildfire and a brief power outage were caused by something completely unexpected: a fish dropped from the sky.
The event took place on Wednesday, July 30, when a brush fire broke out near the village of Ashcroft. While it burned less than an acre, the fire was quickly brought under control thanks to Ashcroft Fire Rescue, with help from local ranchers and staff from BC Hydro, the province’s main power utility.
Fire Investigators Make a Shocking Discovery
Once the flames were put out, investigators began looking into what caused the blaze. Initially, they assumed it could be due to equipment failure or natural causes, but what they found was far more bizarre. According to authorities, the fire started when a fish dropped from the sky landed on power lines, creating sparks that ignited dry grass below.
Officials believe an osprey, a large bird of prey that feeds on fish, had caught the fish from a nearby river—located around two miles away from the fire site. While flying over the area, the bird accidentally dropped its catch. When the fish hit the live power lines, it caused sparks that set the grass on fire.
Fire Department Offers Logical and Humorous Theories
The Ashcroft Fire Rescue team shared the strange turn of events on Facebook, explaining that the bird might have dropped the fish because it was too heavy or the bird was overheated and tired.
They wrote, “The size of the fish and the heat probably caused the rather tired bird to drop its catch.”
But they also couldn’t resist a light-hearted theory, adding, “It’s tired of raw fish and wanted to give cooked a try.”
Community Impact and the Fate of the Fish
The incident caused a temporary electricity outage in Ashcroft, a village of over 1,500 people, located about 210 miles northeast of Vancouver.
Fortunately, there were no injuries, and firefighters even joked that the osprey, referred to as the “prime suspect,” is “still flying at large.” Sadly, the fish did not survive, with responders describing it as “charred and likely overcooked.”
