Update: BC Hydro crews restore power to more than 138,500 customers
VANCOUVER – BC Hydro crews worked throughout the night to restore power after heavy, wet snow and freezing rain caused hundreds of individual outages on Wednesday and Thursday in the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Sunshine Coast and on Vancouver Island. Crews continue to make good progress restoring power to the 147,000 impacted customers.
Since the storm began on Wednesday evening, crews have restored power to more than 138,500 customers. There are currently about 8,500 customers without power.
BC Hydro crews will continue to work throughout the day to repair extensive damage and will be surveying hard-to-reach areas in helicopters this morning. More than 100 spans of downed power lines need replacing, as well as multiple broken power poles.
BC Hydro has about 250 power line technicians working hard to restore power to customers quickly and safely. Crews have been brought in from other areas of the province to assist with restoration efforts, and we will continue to use all available resources until every customer has their power restored.
BC Hydro continues to receive reports of downed power lines. A downed line is considered an emergency situation and members of the public should stay at least 10 metres back and call 911 immediately. BC Hydro crews will work together with first responders to make the area safe.
Customers should also be reminded if any part of a tree or hedge is within three metres of a power line, call 1 800 BCHYDRO (1 800 224 9376). They should not attempt to remove it on their own.
Weather reports indicate that strong winds are expected today, which could lead to additional outages. BC Hydro encourages customers to always be prepared for an emergency, including having an emergency kit for 72 hours.
We appreciate our customers' patience as we continue to work through the restoration process, and we will continue provide updated estimates for power restoration on our website.
Contact:
BC Hydro Media Relations
p. 604 928 6468