Downed power lines force some businesses to close in downtown Victoria
Some downtown Victoria business have had to close for the day after a garbage truck ripped down hydro lines in the 1900-block of Store Street.
A maintenance worker with Reliance Properties says the incident happened just before 8 a.m. Thursday morning.
He says an Alpine Waste truck, that had just finished emptying a dumpster, failed to lower its loading arms, which then got caught on the powerlines.
"They drove away and they ended up taking down the powerlines," said Jeffery Stephens. "It caused a domino effect because all the wires came down on Discovery Street."
Stephen says crews working on the outage told him a hydro pole will have to be entirely replaced.
The power outage has cut power for residences and business in the northern part of the downtown core.
According to BC Hydro, about 500 customers have been affected in a four-block radius between Discovery Street and Fizgard Street, and as far east as Blanshard Street.
The energy provider estimates that power will be back on by 5 p.m. Thursday.
BUSINESSES CLOSING FOR THE DAY
One of Victoria’s largest businesses has been forced to turn away customers and close down early due to the power outage.
"Unfortunately, we will have to be closed for the entire day," said Capital Iron chief operating officer Kylie Black.
"It means losing sales for us and at the end of the day we’re disappointing our customers by not being allowed to shop with us," she said.
Black says with no power inside the store, she has had to send retail staff from the Store Street location home for the day. She also has to cancel deliveries as well, which hurts the company's bottom line.
"It will definitely be in the ten of thousands for us," said Black. "We’ll put our staff to work as best as we can, but it won’t be a full day's worth (of work)."
Black says no power means the darkened store has no internet and no systems to get work done.
"Obviously with no electricity, (there) is a tripping hazard and we have to be very careful inside the store," she said.
"We’re doing the best that we can in this situation and we’re sorry we aren’t able to have people shop with us or complete their deliveries because sometimes things happen that are outside our control."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.