Fire in West Kelowna

A hedge fire broke out in West Kelowna Tuesday night, just after 8 p.m. on Butt Road.

The flames were so high neighbours thought the house beside the hedges was going to be engulfed.

"I thought that it was the entire house, it looked so bad," says Katie Poppy. She was just moving into a home around the corner when she saw the sky light up.

"There were huge flames. I called 9-1-1 and I went over and I parked and I got out and there was a downed power line, and I was assuming that, that's what started the fire. It was across the whole road. I was jumping over it and I warned others that it was there. The end (of the power line) was on their property and it lit up the cedar hedge."

Poppy then went to check on the home owners.

"I made sure no one was in the house and I was just making sure everyone was safe. Crews arrived in ten minutes so I flagged them down and told them about the downed line. I've never been in a situation like that, but everyone was good and nobody was hurt."

The spark appeared to start a row of ten foot high hedges on fire. The side of the home suffered minor damage before crews were able to knock the fire down.

How the line fell is still being investigated. 

Photo: Contributed - Katie Poppy