Bird dropping dinner onto power line led to Canadian brushfire, officials say
Fried fish for dinner? A fish flop onto a power line, caused sparks to create a small fire in British Columbia. Firefighters believe the suspect is a local osprey who dropped their dinner.
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ASHCROFT, British Columbia – Firefighters suspected fowl play when they responded to a brush fire in British Columbia earlier this month, and those instincts were correct.
According to Ashcroft Fire Rescue, a landscape fire was reported about noon Aug. 1 and quickly knocked down. The fire caused power outages in Ashcroft, according to the fire department.
Burned ground after a fire in Ashcroft, BC, Canada.
"A quick investigation revealed the cause of this fire. It was determined to be a fish," the fire department wrote on Facebook. "Yes, you read that right, the fish had an incredible journey, considering the river is 3km (1.8 miles) east from the point of origin."
The post went on to explain the fish was dropped onto a hydro line by an osprey, sending embers from the power line onto the grass along with the fish.
Fried fish after a fire in Ashcroft, BC, Canada.
(Deputy Chief Greg Hiltz, Captain Hayden Aie, and Captain Noel Talarico. / FOX Weather)
Ashcroft Fire shared a photo of the crispy fish. The firefighters joked the osprey may have wanted to try "cooked" fish for once, but more likely it was dropped because it was tired.
"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," the department said.
While this fire didn't last long or cause widespread damage, hundreds of other wildfires across Canada have been sending smoke into the northern U.S. and degrading the air quality to unhealthy levels. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported that nearly 800 fires are burning across Canada, with more than 200 out of control.
This image shows a hazy sky above New York City as wildfire smoke from Canada billows into the U.S. on Aug. 4, 2025.
(FOX Weather)