Remnants of the fried fish on the ground near Ashcroft. (Image Credit: Ashcroft Fire Rescue)

By Victor Kaisar

Ashcroft Fire

‘Fowl play’ suspected after ‘fishy’ wildfire start leads to Ashcroft-area power outage

Jul 31, 2025 | 7:14 AM

ASHCROFT — Firefighters in Ashcroft say a grassfire and a large power outage Wednesday (July 30) that lasted about three hours were caused by a fish that had been dropped by an osprey.

In a statement, Ashcroft Fire Rescue said they were called to a fire burning about six kilometres south of the village just before noon. They note that the fire was burning just off the east side of Highway 1.

“When the crew arrived on scene it was noted that BC Hydro employees and Ashcroft Ranch hands were actively fighting the fire,” the Ashcroft Fire Rescue statement said.

“With all units combined, roughly 4,800 gallons of water was put down into an area roughly 60×90 meters. It’s safe to say that this area has been significantly cooled.”

According to BC Hydro, the official cause of Wednesday’s power outage which affected 943 customers is a bird coming in contact with power lines. Ashcroft Fire Rescue said while it also suspects “fowl play,” there was something “fishy” about Wednesday’s fire.

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“The fish had been dropped by a local osprey onto the hydro line causing embers to drop, along with the fish, to the dry grasses below,” Ashcroft Fire added. “We do suspect the size of the fish and the heat of the day probably caused the rather tired bird to drop its catch.”

“Or another suspicion could be that it’s tired of raw fish and wanted to give cooked a try. We may never know the answer.”

No injuries were reported and Ashcroft Fire says its prime suspect is still “flying at large.”

Image Credit: Ashcroft Fire Rescue