B.C. storm downs trees, knocks out power to thousands on Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island
A powerful windstorm hit areas of the Lower Mainland on Friday, bringing down several trees and leaving thousands without power for hours.
According to Environment Canada, winds were gusting up to 90 km/h late Friday.
"We do have some big trees in this part of the world, and after these couple of summers of prolonged heat and drought, some of them are quite weakened," said storm chaser Ryan Voutilainen.
BC Hydro reported power outages across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, affecting thousands of residents and businesses, including a restaurant in West Vancouver that lost power for about three hours.
"It's heartbreaking," said Ramboc Rezaie, the chief operating officer and general manager of JJ's Kitchen West Vancouver.
"We have the servers here now and ready, the kitchen is fully staffed for a very busy Friday night and, unfortunately, the majority of the business that we anticipated was gone tonight and it's very upsetting," he said.
The owner of the restaurant, Julia Karimi, said power outages happen frequently and it's affecting her business.
While they have an emergency power generator, she said it isn't enough to operate her restaurant.
"We've been here for about a year and two months, and we've had at least three or four outages," she said.
Several ferries were also cancelled Friday, but service was restored for most evening sailings.
Voutilainen said Friday's storm was normal for winter and it's nothing to be concerned about.
"A lot of this has to do with topography. So, depending on where you were in the Lower Mainland, you may have only seen some blustery conditions and thought, 'Well this isn't really that exciting or that eventful,'" he said.
"But as you got towards the water and towards the southeast sections in Metro Vancouver, we did see some substantial wind gusts up to the 80 km/h range. And over the water, some of them were gusting up to 95 km/h," he added.
Voutilainen said people should expect more wind as the season continues, and in the meantime, he urges everyone to be prepared and have an emergency kit ready in case of power outages.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
Dozens of U.S. deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the U.S. over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.