According to the source, the tree damaged electrical and fiber optic lines during the fall. As a result, some customers were left without electricity and many had their internet cut.

beaver blackout

The team, who came to remove the effect of the fall of the poplar on the wires, found teeth marks at the bottom of the tree, which convinced them that the culprit might have been a beaver.

This is unusual, but it happens from time to time,
– Bob Hammer, a representative of provincial power operator BC Hydro, told CTV.

Local utility company CityWest has started working on a more permanent solution that could ensure that beavers no longer leave people without internet. The plan is to lay a second fiber optic line to the ocean floor along the Vancouver coast. Thus, if the tree falls again, the backup line will provide continuous connection.

It’s not the first time that beavers have been accused of shutting down the internet in Canada. In April last year, nearly 1,000 customers lost access to the network all day because of an animal biting the cables. A spokesperson for the ISP at the time described the incident as “a strange and unique turn of events for Canada”, but was clearly in a hurry with the word “unique”.