Power restored to tens of thousands of customers after B.C. coast windstorm

Tens of thousands of BC Hydro customers lost power on Tuesday after a powerful storm brought gusts of up to 110 km/h, along with rain and snow, to parts of the south and central coasts of British Columbia.

Wind warnings are no longer in effect for hard hit areas of north Vancouver Island. However, Environment Canada warns that strong winds are still occurring and expected for B.C.'s central and northern coastlines.

Over 10 centimetres of snow fell over parts of northern B.C. including the Bulkley Valley, the Peace region and Fort Nelson, with an additional 10-15 centimetres forecast tonight.

The cold front brought widespread and powerful southerly winds into Metro Vancouver throughout the day before wind warnings were lifted.

BC Ferries cancelled sailings into Tuesday afternoon on all routes between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island due to the stormy conditions.

Outages across Island

BC Hydro said Wednesday it had safely restored power to more than 121,000 customers since the windstorm. A total of 130,000 customers on Vancouver Island and the South Coast were affected on Tuesday.

About 9,000 customers, primarily in Port Hardy, Port McNeill and Campbell River, remain without power on Wednesday, mostly due to a transmission outage in the northern region of Vancouver Island.

BC Hydro is set to perform helicopter patrols on Wednesday morning to survey the damage to its transmission infrastructure from the air, and will then begin to make repairs.

Customers should always have an emergency kit that includes a flashlight, batteries, first aid kit, water and food standing by in case of extended power outages, it says. 

They can also check estimates for power restoration at bchydro.com/outages.

In an interview on CBC's On The Island Wednesday, Patrick Donaghy, operations manager with the Mount Waddington Regional District, and Port Hardy Mayor Dennis Dugas said while there was a lot of debris from the storm on north island roads, they have not heard of any major injuries or infrastructure damage in the region.

Highway 19, the major north-south connector for the island, is now clear after being closed in both directions south of Port McNeill due to downed trees.

"Trees and branches brought down by the wind have caused extensive damage to the electrical system," according to BC Hydro.  

BC Hydro says if anyone comes across a downed hydro line, they should consider it an emergency, stay 10 metres back and call 911.

"Always assume it's live, even if it's not sparking, smoking or making a buzzing sound," said Rieder.

King tide storm surge warning

The storm hit the coast at the same time as the king tide — the highest tide of the year — raising flooding fears for coastal areas.

On Monday, the City of Delta issued a storm surge warning for the Tsawwassen area in advance of high water levels Tuesday morning due to a king tide and high winds. 

The city said emergency crews including engineering, fire and police personnel plan to set up an incident command post and staging area Tuesday morning.

A switchboard is also open to answer questions and deal with concerns from the public.

On Vancouver Island, the City of Courtenay has deployed a water-filled barrier known as an AquaDam in case the Tsolulm River overflows due to the storm.