British Columbia

14,000 still without power after snowstorm in Interior, BC Hydro says

BC Hydro says it has made progress in restoring power to customers in the central and southern Interior, who have been without since Wednesday morning.

Salmon Arm, Vernon, Kamloops, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House the hardest hit communities

A snowy sidewalk in Kelowna, B.C., one of several Interior communities hit hard by a New Year storm. (Josh Pagé/CBC)

There are still more than 14,000 customers without power after a snowstorm in the central and southern Interior on Wednesday, according to BC Hydro. 

The snowstorm damaged hydro infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power. 

The utility says the hardest hit communities are Salmon Arm, Vernon, Kamloops, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House.

By Wednesday afternoon, BC Hydro was able to restore power to more than 100,000 customers, but were working on restoring power to another 200,000. 

On Thursday morning, power outages continued to affect more than 14,000 customers in those areas. 

Crews have been brought in from other parts of the province in order to restore power. Some were called back from vacation to help. 

Heavy snow and poor road conditions continue to create challenges for BC Hydro crews, who are working to repair more than 130 spans of wire and damage to poles, cross-arms and transformers.

With files from The Canadian Press