A Surrey driver was pronounced dead after two vehicles became trapped under a fallen tree on Highway 10 during the second storm affecting parts of B.C.
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One person is dead after two vehicles were trapped under a fallen tree during a storm in Surrey, with police saying the incident occurred during howling winds and torrential rainfall overnight from Saturday into Sunday morning.
Surrey Police Service said officers received a report Saturday evening of downed wires and a fallen tree across Highway 10, west of 184 Street. Police said two vehicles became trapped under the tree and one of the drivers was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the other vehicle was treated for minor injuries, police said.
Highway 10 was open to one lane traffic between 182 Street and 184 Street while crews cleared the area. The City of Surrey and BC Hydro worked overnight to remove downed power lines.
BC Hydro said the storm knocked out power for thousands of customers across the province. At the height of the storm, approximately 135,000 customers were without power early Sunday morning, and that number had dropped to about 63,000 customers as of 7 a.m. as crews restored service.
Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning around 10:30 a.m. Sunday for the Fraser Canyon between Boston Bar and Lytton, with rainfall amounts up to 50 millimetres. The agency said rainfall warnings had been lifted for northern and western Vancouver Island.
A wind warning was in place for north central B.C. with gusts reaching up to 90 km/h until early Sunday evening. Wind warnings were also in effect early Sunday for parts of the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast, and Vancouver Island.
Residents described the intensity of the weather. Gerry Sullivan, a resident of the Village of Zeballos on northwest Vancouver Island, said: “It was just howling, and we had thunder, we had lightning,” adding that the wind woke him up early Sunday.
Sullivan and his wife Vicki said they had been without power since Saturday afternoon and were using two generators and a wood stove for backup heat. Vicki Sullivan said, “I’m 72-years-old and I’ve never ever experienced a wind like that,” adding that she could hear trees falling outside their home Saturday.
In Zeballos, an evacuation order remains in place for 22 properties after heavy rain and flooding from a storm Friday raised the landslide risk. The Strathcona Regional District said a geotechnical engineer completed an initial assessment, and the district was awaiting the formal report.
The district said Maquinna Avenue, one of the main roads in the area, was re-opened to essential travel, but that stopping was prohibited “as there continues to be a risk to public safety.” Sullivan said the village is about 42 kilometres from the main highway along a forest service road and that he was not sure whether the road was passable after the most recent storm.
By about 8 a.m. Sunday, Sullivan said the wind had died down but it was still raining in Zeballos. He noted that further rain was expected for parts of B.C. as the province dealt with a series of atmospheric river systems.
B.C.’s River Forecast Centre said a third storm starting later Monday may bring a more prolonged period of rainfall across the province’s coast through next week.
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