Residents of the Mesa Grove trailer park on Kootenay Street North in Cranbrook have been left without power on the coldest day of the year after a fire on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
According to the City of Cranbrook, 10 firefighters were called to a fire at the property at about 7:50 p.m. on Tuesday night.
"The fire was confined to a large electrical panel located in a vault on the Mesa Grove property," said Chris Zettel, corporate communications officer.
The fire cut off power to the residents of all 52 mobile homes at Mesa Grove.
"Responders went door-to-door to ensure all residents were safe and aware of the issue. Residents were also advised that there would be no power for the night and likely most of the day Wednesday until the electrical panel was repaired," said Zettel.
Temperatures got down to -31 degrees Celsius on Wednesday morning, so emergency officials set up an evacuation centre for the residents at the Heritage Inn.
"Due to the very cold temperatures expected overnight and lack of heat in most residences, emergency officials activated the Emergency Operation Centre which allows for the evacuation of those affected residents and allowed for the opening of an emergency shelter at the Heritage Inn," said Zettel.
No cause or damage estimate is currently available. Officials will attend the scene Wednesday morning to conduct an investigation.