Crews work to remove downed power lines across the northbound lanes of the Inland Island Highway at Parksville on Oct. 17. Traffic is being diverted to the old highway.
Thousands of people were left without power on Vancouver Island Tuesday as a powerful fall storm hit the province.
According to BC Hydro, damaging winds caused multiple outrages to customers on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast and the Interior. BC Hydro said it expects outages to increase until the winds abate. Crews are going to the affected areas to restore power but exact restoration times are not available until full damage assessments are complete.
BC Hydro outages on Vancouver Island are listed in two regions: north and south. On northern Vancouver Island, just over 4,000 BC Hydro customers were affected. In Parksville, 1,646 customers were without power starting at 8:18 a.m. and power lines were down across the northbound lanes of Highway 19, one kilometre north of the junction with Highway 19A. The highway is now open.
On Tuesday morning, BC Hydro said more than 7,600 were without power on southern Vancouver Island, including around 7, 490 in Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria.
By 4:30, power had been restored to most of the customers on Vancouver Island.
Crews have restored power to customers in #OakBay and #Saanich.
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Update: Crew is en route to #Parksville to investigate an outage to 1646 customers and expects to arrive by 11am. https://t.co/RanQzT2yrV
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Outage in #OakBay, #Saanich area affecting 975 customers. Crews will head to the area & share updates here: https://t.co/Ukc2VbJfFI pic.twitter.com/uwsbx9Ccpi
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
1969 customers in #OakBay and #Saanich are without power. Crews will provide updates here: https://t.co/m5c2Hdcuhr pic.twitter.com/crunr7NM18
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Crews will be investigating an outage affecting 1902 customers in #Saanich. They'll share updates here: https://t.co/LixtsFiMWZ pic.twitter.com/WU7ONZ7FgL
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
2360 customers in #Saanich are without power. Crews will be heading to the area and sharing updates here: https://t.co/ffpJoUJBVW pic.twitter.com/cFfb3Rp92G
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Crews will be heading to an outage affecting 900 customers just outside of #Nanaimo. Updates here: https://t.co/bM0nqLQhRo pic.twitter.com/0Z2dWo3Y0G
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Crews are en route to #QualicumBeach and expect to arrive just before 10. Updates at: https://t.co/FTz8qZxs70 https://t.co/thXy1H9vzL
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Crews will be heading to an outage affecting 1646 customers in #Parksville. They'll share updates here: https://t.co/7ItnMERzKo pic.twitter.com/0EJkbVzjfx
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Crews will be heading to an outage affecting 1649 customers in #QualicumBeach. They'll be sharing updates here: https://t.co/zThpA3699c pic.twitter.com/xfU9kzX4Yg
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
We’ll be responding to an outage affecting 1100 in #PowellRiver. Latest updates once crews arrive: https://t.co/BnMsTbExhb pic.twitter.com/GNs15wQ7NC
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
Crews are en route & expect to arrive shortly at an outage affecting 1200 near #QualicumBeach. Updates: https://t.co/uX00f5Qjm7 pic.twitter.com/hMax7wNI4E
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) October 17, 2017
There is a wind warning in effect for Greater Victoria, North Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands.
Environment Canada said winds of up to 90 kilometres per hour are expected in coastal and central parts of B.C. later today, before easing tonight.
Greater Victoria, East Vancouver Island, Inland Vancouver Island, North Vancouver Island and West Vancouver Island are also under a special weather statement due to another strong fall storm that is expected to arrive early Wednesday. Environment Canada said the storm is expected bring more wind and heavy rain. According to Environment Canada, falling leaves may block storm drains. Combined with significant rain, this can lead to local flooding.
To view the list of the current of power outages, visit the BC Hydro website.
Fallen power lines in Parksville on Oct. 17. More than 1,600 people were left without power in the community.
Alexa Huffman
