Second BC storm leaves about 63,000 still without power as crews respond

The Story

A second in a series of storms pelted the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, leaving about 63,000 British Columbia Hydro customers without power as of 7 a.m. Sunday after the outage count peaked around 1 a.m. at about 135,000.

BC Hydro said Surrey, Duncan, Port Hardy and Prince George were among the hardest hit, with strong winds bringing down branches and trees that damaged power lines, poles and other electrical equipment.

The Sunday outages followed more than 380,000 power outages seen since Friday, when the first storm began affecting the province. BC Hydro said it has restored power to about 317,000 customers so far.

BC Hydro spokesperson Whitney Deane said the utility had crews and resources ready to respond, adding that additional damage and outages are expected while winds continue Sunday morning. She said the utility will provide updated restoration estimates as crews reach outage locations.

The utility reminded people to stay at least 10 metres away from downed, damaged or low-hanging power lines and to call 911 to report them.

Environment Canada warned of wind and rainfall conditions affecting the island and Lower Mainland, including gusts up to 90 km/h and rainfall amounts up to 50 mm in some areas of Metro Vancouver along the North Shore.

The agency also forecast wind gusts of 60 to 80 km/h for parts of the B.C. Interior, including the Cariboo, Fraser Canyon, 100 Mile House, South Thompson, the Coquihalla Highway and the Okanagan Connector, with winds easing slightly before a late push of up to 90 km/h gusts for western regions, and easing again by this evening.

BC Ferries said most services were operating Sunday after cautioning potential cancellations Saturday, including routes between Metro Vancouver and Nanaimo and departures from Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen.

Environment Canada said a third storm expected to hit Monday may bring a more prolonged period of rainfall across B.C.’s coast through next week.