An emergency signal being transmitted from an industrial area in Abbotsford late Thursday night and early Friday morning resulted in a military search and rescue helicopter scouring the area.
Capt. Trevor Reid, a spokesman with the Royal Canadian Air Force's 19 Wing Comox, said an CH149 Cormorant searched the area in east Abbotsford and determined no emergency was involved.
Reid said the chopper had already been in the air for training at the time, and the crew was asked by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria to check out the signal.
He said the matter was then turned over to the Abbotsford Police Department.
Const. Ian MacDonald said police were told that downed hydro lines in the area were deemed to be causing the interference.
Residents posting on the Abbotsford News' Facebook page said the sound of the large helicopter circling the area near Matsqui Prairie and Highway 11 awoke them and shook their homes.