Power restored to 99 per cent of customers left in the dark after storm: BC Hydro

BC Hydro says almost all of the thousands of customers who lost power during a windstorm that swept across southern British Columbia have had their power restored.

The utility says crews have restored power to 99 per cent of the 235,000 customers affected by the windstorm that began on Friday evening.

It says they've replaced dozens of spans of power line, as well as power poles and other equipment damaged in the storm that left customers in the dark across the Sunshine Coast and Lower Mainland, as well as on Vancouver Island.

BC Hydro issued a statement Sunday saying it expects power to be fully restored by the end of the day, with the “possible exception of small pockets of customers in areas with significant damage.”

The company previously said that drought-damaged trees, which are more susceptible to high winds and other severe weather, came down on power lines during the storm.

At the height of British Columbia's drought this summer, 29 of the province's 34 water basins were classified as either a drought level four or five, the highest possible classifications.

The province's drought information portal shows that nine basins are either a level four or five as of Sunday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2023