PORTLAND - A surge of wind last week jumped far beyond levels forecast by operators of Oregon's burgeoning wind-farm industry, sending more power into the regional grid than it could accommodate.

For the first time, Bonneville Power Administration power managers began calling operators with orders to curtail power generation.

The BPA realized by Monday evening that it could no longer handle the surge without increasing spills of water through hydroelectric dams to levels dangerous to fish.

An official said the incident demonstrated a need to make sure that the growth of wind power in the Columbia Basin is managed properly.

Brian Silverstein, a BPA transmission vice president, called the wind event "a wake-up call."

The agency can sanction wind companies that disobey pullback orders. In this case, penalties were unnecessary, Silverstein said.