First of two fall storms cuts power to more than 89,000 BC Hydro customers
Posted October 27, 2022 12:25 pm.
Last Updated October 27, 2022 7:14 pm.
Power is slowly being restored to thousands of homes and businesses in B.C. following the first atmospheric river of the season.
According to BC Hydro, strong wind and rain Thursday left 100,000 customers without power, and most had their service restored by mid-afternoon.
The utility says its crews will continue to work into the evening and overnight.
“Crews have worked throughout the day to repair damaged power lines, poles and transformers. They have made great progress restoring power and will continue to work into the night and overnight. However, some small pockets of customers will be without power tonight, particularly in the North where damage is across the largest geographic region,” BC Hydro said.
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Downed power lines also made a mess of the commute in Metro Vancouver. Highway 1 westbound through Coquitlam was closed for nearly six hours after an electrical wire was downed. The highway reopened at around 3 p.m., but only after the eastbound lanes were briefly shut down as well.
On Wednesday, BC Hydro spokesperson Susie Reider told CityNews that people on the South Coast should be prepared for weather-related power outages, as the utility provider is expecting a particularly tough storm season.
“Our meteorologists are warning this is going to be particularly difficult storm season, especially because of weakened vegetation, and really dry soil,” Rieder said. “That could mean more trees and vegetation are coming down onto electrical equipment.”
Thursday’s storm is expected to move on by Friday, but long-range forecasts show another dump of rain is due on Sunday.
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