By Pete McIntyre

Fire takes out airport beacon

Jan 15, 2020 | 4:25 PM

A shed housing a beacon used by planes landing at the Vernon Regional Airport caught fire this afternoon north of Vernon.

The small shed was located at the north end of Swan Lake on L & A Cross Road, and fire officials say the equipment was destroyed.

“It’s not a huge building. It’s probably 12 by 12 [feet], but I talked to the airport and they said it’s the main landing beacon for them,” said BX Fire Chief Bill Wacey.

The BX and Armstrong-Spallumcheen fire departments both responded.

The cause is under investigation.

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“There is nothing suspicious at all. It looks like it started in the electrical components,” Wacey told Vernon Matters.

Wacey says the frigid weather created challenges for the firefighters.

“It was pretty damn cold, and we had issues with the pumps freezing up, so it’s a good thing we had some redundancy here.”

by Pete McIntyre

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