Update: B.C. Transit plans to mostly return to regular scheduled service on Saturday, with some detours to avoid hills and narrow streets. But these routes will not operate: 12, 13, 53, 59, 60, 63, 65, 85, and 87.
B.C. Ferries and Victoria International Airport are also anticipating a return to scheduled service, with possibility of some delays.
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Almost every flight was cancelled at Victoria International Airport Friday morning and travellers are advised to keep a close watch on YYJ’s website for updates.
Some later flights were listed as delayed or on time.
Rod Hunchak, director of business development and community relations, said it’s unclear what air carriers will do for the rest of the day. “They make the decision based on conditions and crew availability and things like that, so I suspect it will be similar heading into this evening.
“As everybody knows, it’s all dependent on the weather, and in the next few days, who knows?”
The airport’s main runway continues to be open, he said, and is “more than capable” of handling any traffic.
The two other runways remain closed.
B.C. Ferries sailings had resumed as of 11 a.m. on major routes after the first round of morning sailings was cancelled, said spokeswoman Deborah Marshall
Minor routes had the day’s first two round trips cancelled.
Some staff members had difficulty getting to the terminals, creating crewing problems, Marshall said. In response, B.C. Ferries has focused on ensuring regular odd-hour sailings for routes such as Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen are fully staffed, instead of the extra holiday sailings that had been scheduled.
“What we’re doing is we’re making sure that the primary sailings are going, so that would be the odd-hour sailings.”
B.C. Ferries said it was experiencing high call volumes Friday and waits of two hours or more to speak to its agents, and that refunds were being given for any customer bookings on sailings that were cancelled.
“If you do not plan to travel in the next 72 hours, please contact us at another time to allow us to better assist customers with sooner travel,” B.C. Ferries said in a statement.
B.C. Transit said in a 2 p.m. update that it was offering service on 18 of its 57 routes. Buses will not run to a set schedule.
Check bctransit.com for further updates.
Saanich police said the Pat Bay Highway was “mainly clear with some slushy areas” around noon, and officers were on their way to the first traffic incident of the day — a minor collision at the Royal Oak overpass.
Side roads remain snow-covered, police said.
A stretch of Highway 4 was closed Friday because of downed power lines between Tofino-Ucluelet Highway and Taylor River rest area, along with a fallen tree. The road was cleared by Friday afternoon.
Nanaimo, Tofino, and Ucluelet all had power outages, as did an area south of Port Renfrew.
There were four power outages affecting more than 5,043 people on the north Island and one affecting over 430 people on the south Island as of midday.
DriveBC said Highway 14 between Port Renfrew and Jordan River is open to single-lane alternating traffic in the area of Cerantes Road and the Jordan River Recreation site after being blocked by a fallen tree on Thursday. Drivers are being warned to watch for debris on the road.
Island Health said Friday it will consolidate urgent and primary care centre services at its Victoria and West Shore UPCC sites on Christmas Day to lessen the risk of last-minute closures arising from weather or staffing issues.
Both will be open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Christmas Day, while the James Bay, North Quadra and Esquimalt UPCCs will be closed Christmas Day and will reopen for their regular hours of 8 a.m.-8 p.m. on Boxing Day.
The Gorge Road site, which does not regularly open on Sundays, will also be open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. on Boxing Day.
The Salvation Army said Friday that donations to its holiday kettles are down 50 per cent, after collections were cancelled for three days due to weather during the busy pre-Christmas period.
Sipili Molia, manager of community relations for the Salvation Army’s B.C. division, asked people to give online at salvationarmy.ca/givehopevictoria.”
Canada Post issued an advisory Friday saying there are delivery-service alerts for virtually every part of the country.
“Although recovery efforts are underway to get some delivery on Dec. 24 where warranted, these efforts will be pending weather and road conditions as we prioritize the safety of our employees,” the advisory said, adding regular delivery will resume on Wednesday.
People are asked to keep driveways and walkways around their homes clear of snow and ice, and to spread sand and salt.
The University of Victoria, Royal Roads University and Camosun College all closed Friday in advance of regularly scheduled shutdowns over the holidays.
Saturday and Sunday are both forecast to see rain and highs of 9 C, followed by rain and highs of 8 C on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
