Storm knocks out power to nearly 80K on Vancouver Island

Tens of thousands of Vancouver Islanders lost power at some point Friday night as powerful winds kicked up in the aftermath of the latest atmospheric river to hit the province.

As of 10:30 p.m., the number of customers without electricity on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands was 78,000, according to BC Hydro.

After crews worked through the night to restore power, just under 20,000 outages remained as of 10 a.m. Saturday.

That total included roughly 8,600 customers on the North Island and 10,600 on the South Island, according to the Crown corporation's online outage list. 

In a statement, BC Hydro said Victoria, Nanaimo, Qualicum and Parksville were among the Island communities hardest hit by the storm.

"The wind knocked down trees and branches – many of them weakened by the summer’s drought – causing them to come into contact with BC Hydro’s electrical equipment," the statement reads. "As a result, crews continue to be busy repairing damaged power lines, power poles and other equipment."

BC Hydro says cleanup work will continue throughout the day Saturday, and some customers in remote areas may be without power into Sunday.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the highest wind gust recorded in the province Friday night was 118 km/h at Point Atkinson in West Vancouver.

The Trial Islands south of Oak Bay also recorded a gust that strong, though the weather agency labeled that gust "approximate" in its summary.

The fastest confirmed gust on the Island was 100 km/h, recorded in Victoria's Gonzales Bay, according to Environment Canada.

The high winds led BC Ferries to cancel several sailings between the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island, including evening trips between Crofton and Vesuvius on Salt Spring Island and between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island.

Sailings between Westview in Powell River and Blubber Bay on Texada Island were also cancelled due to high winds.

One sailing between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen was delayed because of the weather, but no sailings between the Island and the Lower Mainland were cancelled.