The work to restore power is ongoing 24 hours after the wind storm hit Vancouver Island.
With crews working into the night, and then up again at 6 a.m.
At the height of the storm Wednesday, 60,000 BC Hydro customers on Vancouver Island lost their power.
BC Hydro’s Ted Olynk said many are still waiting for the lights to come back on.
“We hope to have everybody up tonight, except there will be customers in the Duncan area, some in Victoria, and a number of customers, unfortunately, on the Gulf Islands that won’t see their power restored tonight,” he said.
Hydro crews from the Lower Mainland are en route to assist, as well as those from Campbell River, Port Alberni and the Comox Valley, areas of the Island that escaped the brunt of the storm.
The wind knocked down a section of trees along the west side of Elk Lake.
And these two large trees blocked access along the trail near Victoria General Hospital, all victims of the powerful winds.
Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan said winds hit more than 100 kilometres an hour on the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
“It was strong enough to affect even the airport in Tofino. We saw some big winds in the neighbourhoods of Nanaimo. We saw some trees coming down,” Castellan said.
Crews managed to clean up the dozens of felled trees along roads by morning.
Castellan said the storm affected so many trees because it’s late spring, and their leaves are out.
“Yesterday’s wind storm was fairly unusual. We don’t normally see the pattern of a low pressure crossing across Vancouver Island at this time of year. It’s much more of a fall or winter pattern.”
This intersection of Foul Bay and Cadboro Bay remains closed due to downed wires.
The good news for the long weekend weather, no sign of wind, and a return by Sunday to seasonal temperatures.
Mary Griffin
