Cleanup underway after ‘significant’ wind storm hits B.C.
Posted November 5, 2022 1:48 pm.
Last Updated November 5, 2022 5:14 pm.
After strong winds knocked the power off for thousands in British Columbia on Friday, many are spending Saturday in the dark.
At the peak of the storm Friday night, over 330,000 homes and businesses were without power across the province, according to BC Hydro.
Since then, it says more than 80 per cent of customers now have power — leaving about 55,000 still in the dark.
#BCStorm update: Power has been restored to more than 230,000 customers and more than 100 crews continue to be busy repairing damaged power lines, power poles and other equipment. Here’s our latest operational update: https://t.co/WnHSMMfyzB pic.twitter.com/BHxATsJNpD
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) November 5, 2022
Spokesperson for the utility, Mora Scott, says crews are trying to get the lights back on for everyone they can.
“With the significant damage that we’re seeing across such a big area, we may not be able to get to everybody,” she told CityNews on Saturday. “We know that some more remote communities may have to wait longer but we want to assure them that we’re doing everything we can to get to them as quickly as possible but they may be without power for another night, unfortunately.”
Scott says the dry conditions throughout the province during September and much of October weakened trees and vegetation, leading to more branches falling down during Friday’s storm.
“Last year, we didn’t really have any significant wind events so we have a healthy stock of drought-weakened trees from last year plus all the new drought-weakened vegetation from this year too,” she said. “We knew that was going to be challenging going into this storm season.”
A fallen tree at the intersection of Maple Street and Cornwall Avenue in Vancouver late Friday evening. (Photo by Espe Currie, CityNews)
Friday’s storm was one of the biggest ones BC Hydro has dealt with since 2018, when Scott says there was over 750,000 customers without power.
“This is definitely a significant storm for us. Three-hundred-thirty-thousand customers without power is a lot. We do have a really good track record in situatoins like this in getting customers restored quickly. Typically, we have the vast majority of customers restored within 24 hours,” she said.
The strong winds also caused some issues for BC Ferries on Friday evening.
The company says eight sailings had to be cancelled because of the adverse weather.
None of the cancelled routes were from Vancouver to Victoria; however, the 9 p.m sailing from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen had to be delayed.
“During the crossing, the vessel held just south of Active Pass while the weather improved. It arrived in dock around midnight,” said BC Ferries spokesperson, Astrid Chang.
A wind warning was issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada Friday evening, covering all of Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and Howe Sound calling for wind gusts up to 90 km/h.
Read More: Fall wind storm cuts power to thousands of BC Hydro customers
British Columbians show off windstorm damage
With blue, sunny skies on the Lower Mainland Saturday morning, numerous people took to social media to share the windstorm’s damage from around the region.
Pictures show trees that are virtually destroyed, fallen branches sprawling across roads and highways, debris blown into people’s yards, and even a few boats that were sunk.
A branch landed on the power cables just off Renfrew and 22nd along the Boyd Diversion. Lights are still on but the squirrels are upset. @bchydro @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/0XwJMKhXvA
— Kareem Gouda (@KareemsGouda) November 5, 2022
#BCStorm update: One challenge crews faced overnight was falling trees. Here’s a look at some of the damage we’re seeing in #Vancouver. All crews are working as quickly as possible to get power restored for customers. Outage updates: https://t.co/3nubkIURn5 #YVR pic.twitter.com/czaaHO8l41
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) November 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/false_creek/status/1588948479707340800
My wife took this picture on Gilley at around 5am. The tree is across the road, blocking traffic in both directions. It took down a pole with power and communication lines. #BCStorm pic.twitter.com/1bTDhm2SUe
— Morten Rand-Hendriksen is elsewhere (@mor10) November 5, 2022
#BCStorm what I woke up to….. giant beaches hit the roof! Did some damage but thankfully no branches went through the roof! pic.twitter.com/7mwcd5F1b7
— MCDulay (@MsMDulay) November 5, 2022
Tree fell across Highway 101 to Langdale ferry during wind storm on Sunshine Coast BC Canada ???????? #BCStorm #PHOTO Denise Whiting-Gregorchuk https://t.co/zhpDrv2xcS#hwy101 #storm #gibsons #langdale #sunshinecoastbc #britishcolumbia #canada #windstorm #sunshinecoast #highway101 pic.twitter.com/TFSNnelQFd
— Duane Burnett ???????? Sunshine Coast BC (@DuaneBurnett) November 5, 2022
https://twitter.com/lcfrst2/status/1588818066133352450
https://twitter.com/111GoneFishn/status/1588971013232295936
On Friday night, drivers called CityNews saying roads were hectic with fallen leaves, heavy rain, and downed tree branches making conditions dangerous at times.
For the latest on power outages, go to BC Hydro’s website.
Listen live to CityNews 1130 every 10 minutes on the ones for any major traffic and power updates. You can also follow us on Twitter @CityNewsTraffic or subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
With files from Kareem Gouda and Emily Marsten.
