BC Hydro sending repair crews to Vancouver Island as thousands still without power after storm
BC Hydro says it is sending extra repair crews to Vancouver Island to restore power to thousands of people who remain in the dark after Wednesday's windstorm.
Approximately 13,000 hydro customers on the South Island and the southern Gulf Islands were still without power by 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Nearly 4,000 more customers in Ladysmith and Nanaimo were also without electricity.
A BC Hydro spokesperson says the power provider is bringing crews from Metro Vancouver to the hardest hit areas of Nanaimo, Greater Victoria and the Gulf Islands.
Trees and power lines were still down in many areas of the island Thursday morning, approximately 24 hours after a severe windstorm made landfall.
More than 53,000 customers lost electricity at the height of the storm Wednesday afternoon. The storm caused havoc on roadways, forced the cancellation of some ferry travel and prevented a cruise ship from docking in Victoria.
The wind gusts also downed two trees onto a Nanaimo home, an incident that was caught on video by a neighbour. No one was injured when the trees toppled but the damage to the home and a nearby tool shed was significant.
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