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Excavation knocks out power for more than 2,500 Sidney residents

Ocean Avenue briefly closed Wednesday evening
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The Sidney Fire Department briefly closed Ocean Avenue Wednesday evening after a power pole was fractured at a construction site. (Twitter/SidneyVFire)

Some Sidney residents were without power for a few hours Wednesday night after power pole was fractured at a construction site on Ocean Avenue.

The Sidney Fire Department was called to the site around 5 p.m. and closed the road to traffic between Fifth and Second streets for under an hour. Fire Chief Brett Mikkelsen said the site was being excavated in preparation for construction when some services lines were accidentally pulled down, fracturing a power pole and pulling a set of power wires running several directions.

READ ALSO: Crane contact cut power to 2,500 people in Sidney

The incident resulted in large scale power outage, with more than 2,500 customers impacted.

With concerns about the power pole potentially falling, the fire department closed the road as a safety precaution. BC Hydro assessed the scene before it was cleared.

There were no injuries reported and power has since been restored.

The power outage follows several other similar incidents in the last few months, including a widespread outage March 24 after a crane working on Mills Road knocked down a power line.

READ ALSO: FortisBC issues reminder to call before you dig after three gas lines struck in one afternoon

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