Monday December 21, 2020 | VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC [Updated at 5:20 pm on December 21, 2020]
by Kiley Verbowski | Island Social Trends | Mary P Brooke, editor
First snowfall of the season!
Heavy, wet snow has left over 35,000 customers on Vancouver Island without power as of 1:30 pm, on Monday December 21, 2020. [Even more — over 36,000 — hours later, at 5:15 pm.]
The hardest hit areas as of 12 noon were:
- Duncan with 13,700 customers out
- Gulf Islands with 6,800 customers out
- Victoria with 5,600 customers out
- Nanaimo with 3,800 customers out
A BC Hydro customer is a household or business. So the actual number of affected people is greater than the numbers shown above.
Snow on trees:
Snow adds weight to branches and trees. This results in them breaking and coming into contact with BC Hydro’s electrical equipment. Crews are busy repairing damaged power lines, power poles, and transformers.
All available resources are continuing to work throughout the day and into the night to make repairs and restore power, says BC Hydro. “Difficult conditions, including snow and ice on roads, are creating additional challenges for crews.”
To make sure your home is prepared for a possible outage, check out IST‘s guide to emergency preparedness.
Langford:
A crew has been assigned and is estimated to arrive at 2:15 pm to service outages in the Highlands / Langford area west of Martlett Drive. Approximately 653 customers there are without power at this time.
As well, about 137 BC Hydro customers are without power in the Bear Mountain area (as of 1:07 pm).
- At 2:15 pm, City of Langford Engineering released a traffic advisory about “significant snowfall on the Bear Mountain Parkway”, with a reminder that “mud and snow tires are mandatory on all roads in this area”.
- If your vehicle is incapable of driving on the roads and you pull over, drivers are asked to pull right over to the shoulder and out of the driving lanes.
- Dedicated plows are working in the area, but the volume of snow presently falling is significant, says City of Langford Engineering.
Saanich / Central Saanich:
Power has been lost to the following areas, with an estimated 5, 600 customers without service right now.
Central / North Saanich:
Swaths of North Saanich are without power, and crews have either been assigned or are on their way as of 12 pm.
Metchosin / Sooke:
Power was restored this morning to areas around Connie Road. BC Hydro determined that power loss was due to trees fallen on lines. Over 413 customers west of Sooke are without power as of 2:20 pm.
Weather report:
A snowfall warning from Environment Canada is in effect today for the Greater Victoria area (as of 2:14 pm).
A departing low pressure system will continue to give wet snow to Greater Victoria and Southern Gulf Islands this afternoon. Local snowfall accumulations of 5 cm are expected before the precipitation tapers off later this afternoon.
Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas.
Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to BCstorm@canada.ca or tweet reports using #BCStorm.
Meanwhile. a weather warning for the Malahat highway between Goldstream and Mill Bay has now been cancelled.
Updates can be found on the Environment Canada website – VICTORIA.
Getting through this safely:
BC Hydro appreciates the patience of their customers as crews work to repair the damage and restore electrical service.
The utility asks that members of the public follow physical distancing guidelines (as required by Public Health Order during the COVID-19 pandemic) and provide crews with the space they need to complete their work safely.
Crews are receiving reports of downed power lines. A downed power line is considered an emergency situation. People should stay at least 10 metres back and call 9-1-1 immediately. BC Hydro crews will work together with first responders to make the area safe.
For up-to-date outage information, including restoration times, see bchydro.com/outages.