BC Hydro says more than 15,000 customers are currently without power on the South Island due to an overnight snowstorm.
Homes and business on the Saanich Peninsula, Cowichan Valley and Southern Gulf Islands appeared to be the hardest-hit, with nearly 10,000 customers losing power on Salt Spring and Galiano islands, according to BC Hydro’s website.
More than 2,500 customers lost power in Duncan and around 1,200 were in the dark in Central Saanich.
A BC Hydro map shows the outages on the South Island as of 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.
Most of the South Island outages were still under investigation or chalked up to the overnight snowfall, with BC Hydro still in the process of assigning and dispatching crews for the bulk of them.
It comes after BC Hydro users on some Southern Gulf Islands were without electricity overnight due to the high winds and heavy snow that fell a day earlier.
While the company hasn’t issued an official update on whether or not that will happen again tonight, a spokesperson for BC Hydro said it wouldn’t be surprising to see some outages last through the night.
Reminder during #BCStorm: a damaged or fallen power line is an emergency – even if it's not buzzing or sparking. Knowing this could save your life. Stay back at least 10 metres (the length of a bus), keep others away, and call 9-1-1: https://t.co/wEMSsXqdWD pic.twitter.com/WDqtXz8EyG
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 28, 2023
Jeff Lawrence
