STRONG winds and heavy rain left about 330,000 customer without power on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland. Crews worked overnight and power has been restored to 185,000 customers.
As of 6:30 a.m., there were 145,000 customers without power. The hardest hit areas are Surrey, Abbotsford, Burnaby and Nanaimo. Regional breakdown is as follows:
- Lower Mainland North (including the Sunshine Coast): 36,000 customers without power
- Lower Mainland South: 80,000 customers without power
- Vancouver Island (including the Gulf Islands): 28,000 customers without power
BC Hydro had been closely tracking the storm, and sent many crews home early in the day on Friday so they could rest and be available for overnight work. As a result, all available BC Hydro crews and contractor crews worked overnight to repair and restore customers impacted by the storm. One challenge the crews faced during the night was falling trees, which made it too dangerous for them to access some areas to begin repair work.
The wind knocked down trees and branches – many of them weakened by the summer’s drought – causing them to come into contact with BC Hydro’s electrical equipment. As a result, crews continue to be busy repairing damaged power lines, power poles and other equipment.
Clean up work is expected to continue throughout the day. Because of the extensive damage, repair work may take some time and could continue into tomorrow, especially for customers in more remote areas. However, crews are working as quickly as possible to get the largest number of customers restored as soon as possible.
Crews are receiving reports of downed power lines. A downed power line is an emergency. Call 911 and stay at least 10 metres back. BC Hydro crews will work with first responders to make the area safe.
As repair work continues, BC Hydro will provide updated estimates for power restoration as they become available at bchydro.com/outages.
