Emergency dispatchers brace for first big storm of the season on Vancouver Island
An expected 'bomb cyclone' has emergency responders bracing for an increase in activity as the storm moves onto Vancouver Island Thursday and into the weekend.
Staff levels at the Fire Dispatch Centre in Campbell River were increased in anticipation of higher call volumes.
Dispatch centre manager Stephanie Bremer says storm warnings often come this time of year, but this event was expected to be different.
"We have had spurts of additional call volume," she said. "We do anticipate as the storm moves down the island we will see more calls coming in."
Bremer says dispatchers are able to track where the storm is travelling as the calls shift between the 69 different departments they oversee on the island. That's in addition to 11 locations in the Peace River region.
"Quite frequently we'll start to see calls come in on the North Island and they'll start to move down from Sayward to Campbell River, to the Comox Valley through the Nanaimo Regional District," she said.
The bulk of those calls will be of a predictable nature.
"The majority of the calls that come through to us during storm events is downed hydro lines, motor vehicle accidents, people who might be trapped in their homes because a tree has fallen and brought some hydro lines down with it," Bremer said.
The dispatch centre manager says they will often remind the public to stay at least a school-bus' length distance away from downed lines and to always assume the lines are still active.
The storm was already having a noticeable impact on the northern tip of the island, where four ferry routes were cancelled. BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said those routes included the run between Port McNeill and Sointula and Alert Bay; the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert run; Prince Rupert to Haida Gwaii and also a minor route operating within Haida Gwaii.
Other routes were being monitored Thursday.
"We are closely monitoring the weather situation, particularly in the Northern Gulf Islands, but at the present time it looks like we might be okay," Marshall said.
At the Cape Scott lighthouse station, keeper Harvey Humchitt Jr. says the winds have already been increasing.
"The sea conditions are starting to pick up a bit, there's a lot more whitecaps, we're starting to see some blowing spray now," he said.
Humchitt says this is the start of the hurricane force season, but what they're preparing for is even more intense.
"This one here is a really strong one," Humchitt said. "Usually when we've had hurricane force winds at the beginning, they're about 60 to 70 knots. This is the first winds we've had this year that have gone all of the way up to 90 knots, so that's quite a strength."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.