British Columbia

Thousands still without power in Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island

About 27, 000 BC Hydro customers were still without power early Wednesday morning, after yesterday's windstorm toppled trees and damaged power lines and transformers across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and through the Fraser Valley.

Several highways still closed on Wednesday morning in the aftermath of yesterday's windstorm

A blue glow fills the night sky as transformers blow causing a power outage on the North Shore. (Sean Wilson/Twitter)

About 27,000 BC Hydro customers were still without power early Wednesday morning, after yesterday's windstorm toppled trees and damaged power lines and transformers across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and through the Fraser Valley.

BC Hydro was planning use a helicopter to access the Capilano substation, which blew up in a dramatic light display last night, and restore power to thousands customers in North Vancouver.

Crews from B.C.'s Interior are being brought in to help restore service.

Highways closed

Several major provincial highways were still closed earlier this morning — including the Highway 3 near Skagitt Bluffs and Highway 7 near Harrison Mills — due to debris flow, downed power lines or blocked culverts.

At the height of the windstorm, winds hit a high of 124 km/hr along the Sunshine Coast yesterday, and 120 km/h in Hope, and more than 115,000 people were without power, as the winds damaged buildings and closed roads.

Nanaimo B.C. was issued a boil water advisory because of the heavy rain caused turbidity or silt within the water.