Bear electrocuted while climbing a power pole falls and sparks Montana wildfire

A small bear ignited a wildfire Sunday in Montana after an unfortunate mishap climbing a power pole, firefighters reported on Facebook.

The bear, which was electrocuted, fell from the pole and sparked a grass fire near Ravali, Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes firefighters wrote in the post.

Rural fire departments and the tribal division of fire doused the flames, the post says.

It’s not the first time wild animals have sparked a fire.

In October, a squirrel downed a power line that ignited a quarter-acre blaze in Pocatello, Idaho, according to the Idaho State Journal. The squirrel did not survive.

And in November, another squirrel ignited a fire at a Dayton, Ohio, substation, the Dayton Daily News reported. The fire cut power to more than 20,000 customers.

A bizarre series of events in Northern California involving a bear and a sheriff’s patrol car caused a fire in August 2019, McClatchy News previously reported.

The bear fell on a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department patrol car, causing it to crash and spark a half-acre blaze along Highway 96, according to the publication. The bear fled.

This story was originally published August 11, 2020 at 9:07 AM with the headline "Bear electrocuted while climbing a power pole falls and sparks Montana wildfire."