Thursday November 2, 2023 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated 4:50 pm]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
On south Vancouver Island at mid-afternoon today there are 3,035 customers without power, across nine outages.
The weather has been a bit windy with some rain today, but not significantly so.
In fact, BC Hydro Vancouver Island spokesperson Ted Olynyk says personnel patrolled the line and “didn’t find anything” (as to a cause). “It does happen”, said Olynyk who has been one of the island’s BC Hydro reps for many years. So BC Hydro work crews just reset the breaker.
Temperatures are moderate with a 13°C high today in the west shore, under cloudy skies.
Resolved by 4 pm:
By 3:50 pm power was back on for the largest impacted area. And by 4:20 pm skies were sunny.
Outages in the west shore as at 2:45 pm:
- Most of the outages (2,783) are in the Langford area: North of SOOKE RD, West of PRESTON WAY, South of TRANS CAN HWY. The power went out at 2:03 pm. [Cause under investigation]
- In Colwood/Metchosin/Langford there are 192 customers without power; the power went out there at 12:46 pm: South of HUMPBACK RD, West of RESOLUTION WAY, North of HAPPY VALLEY RD. [Cause under investigation]
- Highlands has had 46 customers without power since 10:17 am: South of WOODRIDGE PL, East of MUNNS RD, North of VERONA CRS, West of PETWORTH DR [Planned work]
Other south Vancouver Island outages:
There are a few other outages today due to planned work, including in Central Saanich, North Saanich, Saanich and Oak Bay.
Upcoming winter weather impacts:
Due to the stress on trees during the heat dome in 2021 and the droughts of 2022 and 2023, trees may have loosened their grip in the soil, and could be more vulnerable to wind and the impact of flooding. Trees that fall onto power lines are a common cause of power outages to BC Hydro customers.
“Each storm is not isolated unto itself,” Olynyk told Island Social Trends today. Repeated stress on trees and the surrounding environment is usually cumulative. “The number of calls and storms have been increasing over the years,” he said.
Tree management:
Tree management is an ongoing undertaking by contractors for BC Hydro. The utility has vegetation coordinators and receive input from arborists.
