Over 200,000 BC Hydro customers without power as ‘bomb cyclone’ winds hit

Over 200,000 BC Hydro customers were without power Tuesday night as high-speed winds swept over Vancouver Island and B.C.’s coast.

A rapidly deepening low-pressure system, known as a ‘bomb cyclone,’ appears to have fulfilled its promise of a massive wind storm.

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The significant fall storm arrived about 400 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island by the late afternoon. Environment and Climate Change Canada predicted winds would peak late Tuesday night.

As of Tuesday night, homes and businesses in the Nanaimo area, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and other northern municipalities on the Island were most affected by power outages.

In the Lower Mainland, tens of thousands of customers were in the dark Tuesday evening — with Richmond hit hardest early on.

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South of the border, about 94,000 customers were without power in western Washington as strong winds ramped up and snow fell in the Cascade Mountain passes Tuesday evening. More than 12,000 customers had lost power in Oregon, according to poweroutage.us.

BC Hydro says it prepares for storm season and weather-related power outages year round — and this storm will be no exception.

Spokesperson Kevin Aquino says BC Hydro is already ensuring that crews are positioned in the right places with the right equipment.

“We have a team of in-house meteorologists that have been tracking this weather system quite closely, and that definitely enabled us to ramp up our BC Hydro crews, contract our crews, and call centre agents,” said Aquino.

“So if the lights do go out, we’re ready to respond.”

Aquino says it’s difficult to predict where damage will take place and encourages all customers to be prepared with an emergency kit with supplies to last at least 72 hours.

He says an historic drought in the province this year may continue to cause problems as wind and rain pick up.

“The problematic thing about the drought-weakened trees is that they are more susceptible to break and snap onto electrical infrastructure, thus causing power outages.”

In the event of discovering a downed power line, Aquino says you should always assume that it’s live, stay at least 10 metres back, and call 911.

“A down line is considered an emergency, and our crews will work with responders to ensure that the area is safe.”

Listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver every 10 minutes on the ones for weather updates. You can also follow @NewsRadioVAN and and Meteorologist Michael Kuss on X and subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

—With files from Charlie Carey and The Associated Press