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Day 6: Vancouver Island power outages continue on Xmas

BC Hydro, power outages, Christmas, Vancouver Island, windstorm
Locations of power outages on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands at 9:45 pm on Christmas night, December 25, 2018.
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Tuesday, December 25, 2018 ~ VANCOUVER ISLAND.

~ by West Shore Voice News

As of 9:45 pm this Christmas night Tuesday, December 25, there were 8,946 BC Hydro customers without electricity, all of them on Vancouver Island: North Island 2,571 and South Island 6,375.

That’s down from 17,629 at this time Christmas Eve, which was lower than the morning of December 24 when 25,996 BC Hydro customers were without power.

All of the core and western communities of Greater Victoria area are back up and running. Tonight’s continued outages are in Central Saanich, Duncan, and North Cowichan, as well as on Ganges Island, Saturna Island, and Piers Island.

Wind that came from several directions during the December 20 storm brought down multiple trees and power poles, many that blocked traffic including repair vehicles. The lack of access for assessment and repair has slowed down the process of power restoration.

BC Hydro’s update this evening: “Crews continue to repair the damage from the storm last week. Trouble orders are being assigned to crews as damage assessments are completed. Due to the extent of the damage it will take several more days to restore power for all customers on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. All available crews and resources will continue to work throughout the day and night until all customers are restored. We appreciate your patience and will continue to provide updates as they become available.”