Thousands of people across Vancouver Island are waking up without power Sunday morning and for many, snowfall is to blame.
Just over 4,000 people on the North Island and 1,500 on the South Island are without power, BC Hydro’s website said around 10:30 a.m.
According to the company, while some outages are still under investigation, most were caused by snow or trees down across its hydro wires.
Tofino, Ucluelet, Port Alberni and Campbell River are included in BC Hydro’s North Island outage list, while Victoria, Oak Bay and Colwood are on the South Island list.
In Tofino, more than 2,300 people are without power, and in nearby Ucluelet, around 530 are impacted by outages. Yet, residents in this region have already been dealing with a loss of electricity. Around 9:15 p.m. Saturday, BC Hydro said an outage in Tofino was affecting thousands.
Meanwhile, less than 70 people in Port Alberni are currently without power and around 1,000 are impacted by outages in the Campbell River and Sayward areas.
In Victoria and Colwood combined, less than 100 people are without power due to trees down across wires, and in Oak Bay, just over 1,450 are without power, though BC Hydro notes this outage was planned.
Environment Canada’s latest weather report says the Ucluelet area got about 32 centimetres of snow Saturday into Saturday night, while Port Alberni got 10-15 cm and, to the north, the Comox-Courtenay area got 3-11 cm. During that same time period, 10 cm fell in Chemainus, 9 cm fell on the Malahat, and 4 cm fell in Victoria.
Around 9:45 a.m., BC Hydro took to Twitter to post a photo of a tree down across hydro wires in the Tofino area.
“A birds-eye view of the damage our crews are facing to restore power to customers in Tofino following heavy snowfall on Vancouver Island,” the company said.
BC Hydro updates its website with the latest power outage information. The company says its crews are either assigned to restore or are currently working to restore the power to people on Vancouver Island.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
A birds-eye view of the damage our crews are facing to restore power to customers in #Tofino following heavy snowfall on #VancouverIsland. Updates on repairs and an estimated restoration time will be posted once available: https://t.co/R26lpXeYAF pic.twitter.com/mvpEgcluVl
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 26, 2023
A large power outage is affecting the west coast including #Tofino. @bchydro is reporting a tree down across wires. District of Tofino has issued Stage 4 Water Restrictions due to problems with back up generators. @CHEK_News #bcstorm pic.twitter.com/vLlq395V0O
— Dean Stoltz (@deanstoltzchek) February 26, 2023
#BCStorm: Heavy snowfall has caused a number of outages in the #LowerMainland & on #VancouverIsland. Crews will continue to work throughout the day to make repairs & restore power. Updates & estimated restoration times will be shared on our mobile site: https://t.co/Unm7eOrBag pic.twitter.com/6wH3qC3OzX
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 26, 2023
Ethan Morneau
