Power slowly being restored to over 190,000 B.C. Hydro customers after storm hit the region

A storm that battered B.C.'s South Coast knocked out power for more than 190,000 B.C. Hydro customers overnight on Friday as 60 ferry sailings were cancelled.

As of 5 p.m. PT on Saturday, B.C. Hydro said around 43,000 customers were still without power. About half of those were in Surrey, which was the hardest hit area, the Crown utility said.

In a statement, a B.C. Hydro spokesperson said crews were working to restore power by repairing downed power poles and equipment. Meanwhile, Environment Canada said B.C.'s forecast calls for more rain and snow.

"As storm season begins, drought-weakened trees are more susceptible to break and snap and come into contact with our electrical infrastructure, which may cause power outages," B.C. Hydro spokesperson Kevin Aquino told CBC News.

Trees that are downed in adverse weather cause more than half of all power outages in the B.C. Hydro grid, Aquino said in an interview on Saturday.

"When you compare the season to previous seasons, with the drought conditions at play, we are seeing more outages on the system," he said.

The power authority is increasing its vegetation management program in light of the drought and the significant rain that hits southwest B.C. every winter, he said.

"They regularly inspect vegetation or trees that are weakened or dead," he said. "We do the the proper pruning ... to ensure that they don't encroach into our power lines."

Ferry cancellations

B.C. Ferries cancelled 60 sailings across 12 routes on Friday evening due to the windstorm.

The cancellations affected all scheduled routes after 8:15 p.m. PT, B.C. Ferries said, except a handful of late sailings to the Sunshine Coast, Salt Spring Island, and Bowen Island.

On Saturday morning, ferry service was returning to normal — with some delays reported across the network.

"We did cancel some of the later evenings sailings yesterday," Deborah Marshall, a B.C. Ferries spokesperson, said on Saturday morning. 

"I would imagine some of those customers decided to travel this morning, and we are accommodating our customers as quickly as we can," she said, adding the cancelled sailings were automatically refunded.

Environment Canada warns of wind, snowfall

Meanwhile, Environment Canada said that southwest B.C. could see gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour, with an estimated 70 millimetres of rain expected in the Fraser Valley.

Up to 20 centimetres of snow is expected in the Manning - Skagit Valley region on Saturday.

Environment Canada said downpours could be heavy enough to lead to flash floods and water pooling on roads.

Surrey RCMP are warning drivers of closed roads following a high voltage power line fire on Fraser Highway.

The highway is closed in both directions from 170 Street to 182 Street and Highway 15 is closed north and southbound from 80 Avenue to 68 Avenue.

The RCMP said it is not clear how long the closures will last.

A special weather statement covering the Coquihalla Highway from Hope to Merritt said 25 to 40 centimetres of snow is expected on mountain passes by Sunday morning, by which time heavy snowfall is expected to abate.

B.C.'s transportation ministry warned drivers to prepare for possible delays on the Port Mellon Highway on the Sunshine Coast due to "overnight debris flow" at Bear Creek, which is located around eight kilometres north of Gibsons.

Engineers have determined it is safe for crews to begin restoring the road, and the ministry expects the highway to be restricted to single-lane alternating traffic for several days.