BC Hydro bombarded by power outages across Lower Mainland
CHILLIWACK — A powerful wind storm walloped the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island overnight, resulting in well over 200 power outages.
B.C. Hydro issued a statement Saturday morning (Nov. 11, Remembrance Day) on its website asking customers to be patient while it deployed crews to restore power.
“High winds have caused widespread power outages in the region. Crews were able to restore power to some customers overnight; however, as the strong winds continued, other areas were impacted. All available crews and contractor crews will be through the day to restore power to affected customers. Updates for individual outages and estimated restoration times will be posted as they’re available at bchydro.com/outages. Reminder: if you come across a down or damaged power line, remember to stay at least 10 metres back and report it to 911. Thanks for your patience.”
In Abbotsford, 523 customers lost power in Sumas Prairie just after midnight. The exact location was south of Cole Road and east of Sumas Way (Highway 11). Crews are expected to arrive at 10:15 a.m.
Closer to central Abbotsford, 761 customers have been without power since 2:39 a.m. Crews have been assigned to this outage.
In north Clearbrook, 1,073 customers lost power at 2:21 a.m. due to a tree that fell across hydro wires. Crews are already on site.
As of 9:31 a.m., only one power outage was reported in Chilliwack in Fairfield Island south of Cartmell Road, impacting 21 customers.