Thousands lose power after major windstorm sweeps through parts of BC
An intense wind storm of up to 80 km/h has left thousands of people in Vancouver without power.
On Saturday, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement warning of strong winds blowing through Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and the Southern Gulf Islands in the evening.
The winds were caused by an “intense Pacific cold front,” which left many without power. According to the BC Hydro outage list, affected areas include Central Interior, Lower Mainland/Sunshine Coast, the Northern region, Okanagan/Kootenay, Thompson/Shuswap, and Vancouver Island.
In a Tweet, BC Hydro stated that crews are on-site working to restore power.
Crews are on-site working to restore power for 1,708 customers in #Vancouver. Stay updated with the latest info at: https://t.co/0q06ndedTE pic.twitter.com/hgJiGJTG2u
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) November 26, 2022
In an email to Daily Hive, a representative for BC Hydro stated that outages were caused by adverse weather, mostly wind blowing down trees and vegetation making contact with their equipment.
“At the peak of the storm (between midnight and 1 am), 15,000 customers were without power,” they stated.
Some of the hardest-hit areas included Chilliwack, Langley, Hope, and Mission. However, power has been restored to almost all customers.
- You might also like:
- Windy city: Metro Vancouver set to see gusts up to 80 km/h this weekend
“There are a few scattered outages that occurred in the early morning today, mostly in the Lower Mainland affecting a few hundred customers,” they stated. “Our crews are working around the clock to restore all customers as soon as possible.”
The BC Hydro spokesperson is urging the public to dial 911 and stay 10 metres back if they see a downed line.
Check here for power outage updates.
With files from Sarah Anderson