Thousands still without power as second storm downs trees and power lines in Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley

At the height of the storm early Sunday at 1 a.m., BC Hydro estimated 135,000 customers were without power. As of 7 a.m. this morning, approximately 63,000 customers had no power as restoration efforts continued.

BC Hydro reports the hardest-hit areas include Surrey, Duncan, Port Hardy and Prince George, where strong winds have brought down trees and branches, and also damaged power lines, poles and other electrical infrastructure.

Since the storms began Friday, there have been more than 380,000 customers without power across British Columbia.

Crews have restored power to approximately 317,000 customers so far. However, BC Hydro says winds remain strong in some areas and are not expected to lessen until later today, so more trees and branches are expected to fall onto the power lines before it’s over.

“We prepared for this storm and had crews and resources ready to respond immediately,” said Whitney Deane, BC Hydro spokesperson. “Our crews are making good progress, but with strong winds continuing this morning, we expect to see additional damage and outages before conditions improve. We appreciate our customers’ patience as our crews work as quickly and safely as possible to restore power.”

In a statement sent to Fraser Valley Today, BC Hydro says its crews continued working around-the-clock following Friday night’s storm, restoring power to more than 160,000 customers while responding to new outages as strong winds affect most of the province.

With additional weather systems expected through next week, BC Hydro has moved into an extended storm response, with crews restoring remaining outages, responding to new damage and preparing for further impacts.

by Lisa Grant and Mike Vanden Bosch

Thousands still without power as second storm downs trees and power lines in Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley

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