Osprey drops fish onto powerline, causing fire in Ashcroft, B.C.

Crews spray water on a grass fire in Ashcroft, B.C., on Wednesday, July 30. (Courtesy: Ashcroft Fire Rescue)

Firefighters blamed “fowl play” on a landscape fire that burned a large patch of grass just outside the village of Ashcroft, B.C.

Just before noon Wednesday, Ashcroft Fire Rescue was called out to an area east of Highway 1 about six kilometres south of the town, where they found BC Hydro employees and ranch hands fighting heavy flames, the department recounted in a social media post.

Firefighters sprayed roughly 4,800 gallons of water on the 60-metre by 90-metre blaze and were able to get it under control. Power was out for the village west of Kamloops during the incident.

Crews later determined that the cause of the fire was none other than a sparking fish. An osprey had dropped its meal on a powerline, causing embers and the unfortunate creature to plummet onto the dry grass below.

“We do suspect by the size of the fish and the heat of the day probably caused the rather tired bird to drop its catch,” Ashcroft Fire Rescue wrote in the post.

“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, but it has been verified that our prime suspect sustained no injuries in the incident and is still flying at large.”

Firefighters noted that osprey are birds of prey, not fowl, but couldn’t resist the pun when telling the story.