BC Hydro has shared a list of the most memorable outages of 2025, and some are downright bizarre.
According to the utility company, crews responded to over 61,000 trouble calls in 2025. While most were caused by downed power lines or storms, some were far out of the ordinary.
From birds and beavers to fishing lines and cicadas, here are a few of BC Hydro’s most memorable incidents of the year:
Godzilla in the grid
In December, three major storms and atmospheric rivers swept across BC.
The utility company says crews were befuddled when the last of these storms sent a giant inflatable Godzilla flying into power lines at a car dealership in Nanaimo.
This blow-up monster prompted a trouble call so crews could safely remove it.
Fishing folly
According to BC Hydro, a group of neighbourhood kids in Sidney were practicing their casting skills with fishing rods in May.
However, two accidentally hooked on overhead power lines and caused an outage for one unlucky customer.
Crews responded and removed two fishing lures and lines before restoring service.
Where the cicadas sing
In May, a frightful day saw one BC Hydro customer in Kelowna report an alarming buzzing sound, thinking it might be a dangerous power line issue.
To their dismay, the culprit for this buzzing was cicadas. BC Hydro says no repairs were needed in this incident.
Osprey oops
In July, BC Hydro responded to a peculiar call in Ashcroft, only to discover that an osprey had dropped a fish onto a power line.
The incident sparked a small grass fire that led to an outage for 943 customers in the area.
For this matter, fire crews, BC Hydro workers and local ranchers worked together to extinguish the blaze using approximately 4,800 gallons of water.
Log-jammed
A beaver in Horsefly brought down a large tree across multiple spans of wire and a river crossing in July.
This beaver saw crews come out and work through challenging conditions to restore power for the 375 customers who were impacted.
Feathered fiasco
BC Hydro says in July, a crow in Delta collided with a transformer, which knocked out an entire feeder and left 4,636 customers without power.
Crews patrolled the circuit and restored service.
Another osprey oops
In August, around the area of Quesnel, another osprey dropped a fish into BC Hydro power lines.
This resulted in six customer outages and necessitated a pole replacement.
Lessons learned in 2025
According to BC Hydro, outages can be unpredictable and many are preventable.
For these reasons, the utility company is urging people to stay safe by watching for power lines, and never flying kites, drones or carrying balloons near them.
During storms, it is best to secure items that could blow away and always keep at least three metres—about the length of a four-door car—between yourself, tools and power lines.
Those who come across a downed or damaged line in the new year should stay back at least 10 metres—the length of a city bus—and call 911.
