Last updated on April 19, 2021 at 8:19am
FERNDALE, Wash. — Whatcom Fire District 7 (WCFD7) personnel were dispatched to a report of a grass fire at Portal Way and Kaas Road today, March 31st, about 3:45pm.
According to WCFD7 Division Chief Ben Boyko, a citizen had stomped out the fire by the time he arrived. The citizen said the fire started when a nearby transformer blew, dropping sparks on the grass.
Puget Sound Energy reported an outage had started in the same area about 3:40pm and impacted 30 of their customers along Kaas Road.
As of 3:50pm, PSE’s estimate for restoring power was 6pm.
Advertisement
Click for more information
Click for more information
Advertisement
Click for more information
Click for more information
Update: As of 6:30pm, PSE’s estimate for restoring power was 1am.
The blown transformer was caused by a delivery truck snagging the overhead lines as it was leaving a residence at the end of Kaas Road. The truck pulled down the power pole with the transformer and almost pulled the next power pole down. Wires were on the ground at the end of Kaas Road and then were draped close to the ground farther up the road. PSE’s response was slow. The PSE assessor stopped by and coned off a driveway because of low lines and then left. There was no way we were going to have power by 6pm as the PSE crew didn’t show up until around 8pm.