Tofino residents were asked to limit their water use to drinking and flushing on the weekend after the district’s water supply was affected by a major power outage.
All food operators were asked to only serve takeout orders to save on water.
Heavy snow downed trees onto power lines Saturday evening, cutting electricity to about 2,300 B.C. Hydro customers, including the system that runs Tofino’s water supply. Environment Canada said about 32 centimetres of snow fell in the Ucluelet-Tofino area Saturday, more than anywhere else on the Island.
Tofino issued a Stage 4 water restriction at 6:39 a.m. Sunday after the failure of two critical backup generators at its water reservoir. Stage 4 restricts water use to drinking and sanitation purposes. The district said water restrictions were initiated to maintain flows for emergencies such as fires. Residents, businesses and visitors helped conserve water for about 12 hours, the district said.
Tofino opened its community hall as a warming centre until 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Tofino Mayor Dan Law said he spent much of the day there.
“I would like to thank the District of Tofino and B.C. Hydro crews who are troubleshooting the issue and working tirelessly to restore power and bring our water systems back to a normal functioning state,” Law said in a statement Sunday.
An update was issued at 6:25 p.m. Sunday saying water and power were back to normal.
Thousands of B.C. Hydro customers in other parts of the Island were in the cold Sunday after snowfall brought trees and branches down onto power lines.
Power was out again late Monday morning for approximately 2,300 customers in Tofino and a similar number in Ucluelet, but was restored by the afternoon.
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