FortisBC holds public and employee safety as a main priority and we work with provincial emergency officials to monitor various forest fire situations in B.C. We also work with local fire and emergency authorities to ensure public safety, and protect our natural gas infrastructure.
Natural gas service outages
If fire or emergency officials request FortisBC to do so, we will turn off natural gas service as a precautionary measure, or if there is an immediate threat to FortisBC infrastructure. Once fire or emergency officials confirm the situation is safe, there are a number of steps that FortisBC takes to safely restore natural gas service:
- assess the natural gas system in the affected area, repair any damage and reactivate the affected system
- visit each home to relight all affected appliances and restore gas service at the meter, if required
- if you are not at home, a FortisBC technician will leave a door tag that provides contact information. Call 1-877-711-8877 for relights.
What to do when you return home
The decision to lift the evacuation order is made by local fire officials after consultation with other agencies, including FortisBC. Once the order is lifted, customers will be able to return to their homes.
- If gas has been turned off due to an emergency, FortisBC will first ensure the natural gas system is safe. Once complete, FortisBC crews will visit your home to relight your appliances.
- If the service valve on your meter is turned to the off position, do not turn it on. If you have concerns with the natural gas system, or if you detect the rotten egg or sulphur smell of natural gas, leave your home immediately and call the FortisBC 24-hour emergency number at 1-800-663-9911.
Always call a registered gas contractor
Don't try to put natural gas appliances back in service yourself. Do not use any gas appliances that have been damaged, until they have been thoroughly inspected by a registered gas contractor.
The contractor will check, repair and pressure test all gas pipes that may have been affected by the forest fire. They will also check that all your gas equipment is safe to operate.