Thieves took advantage of widespread power outages to loot a storage locker at a volunteer fire station in Qualicum Beach.
Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department posted about the theft on Facebook Sunday, saying someone had broken into the storage seacan at 230 Hobbs Road in the past 24 hours.
The thieves made off with all of the department's spare fuel they had been using to power a generator and fire trucks after a major windstorm cut power to tens of thousands of BC Hydro customers last week.
"They also stole a brand new mountain bike that was to be stored for a Christmas present, our 2 weed eaters, all our oil and some other items," the department wrote.
Because the theft took place during the outages, surveillance cameras at the department were unable to catch the crime in action.
The department is asking anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity at the station to contact Oceanside RCMP at 250-248-6111.
The theft came days after a similar incident targeting Cowichan Fire Department. Officials said while their power was out, someone broke into a locked storage area and stole a 100-pound liquid propane bottle.
The department said the four-foot-tall bottle is useless to anyone but them as it only works with their specialized training equipment. They said it could also be dangerous if someone tried to use it as a regular propane bottle.
More than 20,000 customers remain without power on Christmas Eve, four days after the storm hit.
