A Hungry Bird Catches a Fish – and Accidentally Starts a Wildfire for the Ages
Out in Ashcroft, British Columbia, firefighters know how to put out grass fires that appear to have no obvious cause, and they are even better at telling pun-laden stories.
The narrow facts of the matter were that a grass fire broke out near Ashcroft, British Columbia, back on July 30, as noted by CBS.
Power to about 1,500 people was cut amid the blaze, according to the New York Post.
Firefighters put out the blaze, and that was that — except that this was not the average fire, and it gave firefighters the chance to tell a very unique fish story.
The Facebook post from Ashcroft Fire Rescue made it clear from the start this was not the average fire report, and that readers offended by puns might want to avert their gaze.
“Do you wonder why the power was out in Ashcroft today? There is something fishy about this call and we definitely suspect fowl play!” the post said.
The post outlined the circumstances of the fire, which broke out just before noon, noting that by the time they were done, 4,800 gallons of water doused a grass fire that ate up a piece of land about 60 meters by 90 meters in area.
All that business dispensed with, the post explained why the fire started.
“It was determined to be a fish, yes, you read that right, the fish had an incredible journey, considering the river is 3km east from the point of origin,” the post said.
“The fish had been dropped by a local osprey onto the hydro line causing embers to drop, along with the fish, to the dry grasses below,” it continued.
Firefighters offered two reasons why the fish may have been dropped.
Firefighters battling a brush fire say there was an unusual cause for the blaze — a fish dropped on a powerline: https://t.co/hGOodxdKP8 🤷🏽🐟 pic.twitter.com/GlcVa2dfQq
— Local 12/WKRC-TV (@Local12) August 5, 2025
“We do suspect by the size of the fish and the heat of the day probably caused the rather tired bird to drop its catch. Or another suspicion could be that it’s tired of raw fish and wanted to give cooked a try,” the post read.
“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 post then noted that facts should never get in the way of a good story.
“Now we know we probably ruffled up some feathers with some of you on this write up. It should be noted that osprey are not fowl, they are birds of prey. But it made for good click bait didn’t it!” the post said.
Of course, an update was required two days later.
“The suspect osprey has been caught and is being held in custody for questioning. The judge has not granted bail as the suspect poses an extreme flight risk!” the post said.
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