BC Hydro power line electrocutes two dogs, leaves woman in critical condition

A woman is in critical condition in hospital, and her two dogs are dead after contacting a BC Hydro power line in B.C.'s Fraser Valley.

The incident happened just outside the Kilby Historic Site, just outside Agassiz, shortly before 4 p.m. PT on Sunday, but has only just come to light.

BC Hydro confirms the power line in question appears to have been knocked down in a storm on Thanksgiving weekend — a full week before the incident.

But the power wasn't cut off, and the corporation has no record of anyone calling to report the line coming down, it said.

"We believe at this time that the downed line was not reported to BC Hydro," said BC Hydro spokeswoman Simi Heer in an emailed statement.

Neighbours upset

Neighbours of the woman are trying to understand what happened, and coming to terms with the fact that should she survive, she will be dealing with life-changing injuries.

Neighbour Ted Chalupa said the woman's life may have been saved by a woman at the nearby Kilby Provincial Park campground who heard the incident.

"There was a woman at the campsite who heard a horrific scream come from the corn field and she jumped onto the dyke, and virtually saw the woman ablaze in the cornfield and called 911," Chalupa said.

The BC Ambulance Service confirmed a woman was taken by helicopter to hospital in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

Questions for Hydro

Chalupa — who spent Monday afternoon burying his neighbour's dogs — wonders if anyone at BC Hydro knew about the power line days before the incident. He says his wife spotted a "sagging" power line last week while walking on the dyke.

"They kind of just figured oh, Hydro must have come out and cut off power to it, but no, that wasn't the way it was. It was still hot," he said.

Chalupa said neighbours believe someone called BC Hydro, but the corporation insists it has no record of such a call, noting any call of a sagging, or downed line is classified as a "priority one call."

"This means that we dispatch crews to these calls as soon as possible, even if this means pulling them away from other jobs," Heer said.