A windstorm that ripped through the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island early Thursday morning knocked out power to thousands along B.C.’s south coast and led to at least one ferry cancellation.
B.C. Hydro crews are working on 14 outages across the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast, mostly due to down wires and fallen trees on lines, that have left nearly 2,400 customers without power in Burnaby, Delta, Langley, Maple Ridge, Port Coquitlam, Richmond, Sechelt and parts of Surrey.
A further 2,300 B.C. Hydro customers are without power on northern Vancouver Island.
At the storm’s peak, as many as 9,000 along the B.C. coast were without power.
Last night’s storm resulted in a seven-hour ferry ride for the 21 passengers aboard the Queen of New Westminster from Duke Point to Tsawwassen. The ferry, which left Nanaimo at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday, an hour later than scheduled, hit rough waters and was unable to safely dock at Tsawwassen until 7 a.m. Thursday.
The severe weather has led to the cancellation of the 7:45 a.m. B.C. Ferries sailing from Duke Point (Nanaimo) to Tsawwassen, while the 7:45 a.m. sailing from Tsawwassen to Duke Point is operating 56 minutes behind schedule.
Meanwhile, Environment Canada has issued special weather warning for the Sea to Sky Highway between Squamish and Whistler which could see as much as 20 centimetres or more of snow by midnight tonight.
Travellers are advised to prepare for hazardous driving conditions and should exercise due caution. Drivers should also consult www.drivebc.ca for updated road conditions.
