VICTORIA -- Thousands of Vancouver Island residents were without power Friday morning as high winds ravaged the south coast.

Approximately 2,700 BC Hydro customers in Colwood, Langford, Metchosin were without power before noon. BC Hydro says electricity was restored to most of those addresses by Friday afternoon.

The hydro company says a downed tree caused the outage.

Farther west, more than 400 BC Hydro customers in Port Renfrew were also without electricity. The power provider said work crews were still assessing the cause of the outage.

Customers on the coast between Jordan River and Otter Point also lost their electricity.

BC Hydro said 465 residents and businesses in the area were affected. Work crews were on iste in the afternoon to repair the problem. The cause of the outage was still under investigation.

A wind warning remained in place for the South Island Friday afternoon as gusts of up to 90 km/h were expected to sweep over Greater Victoria, easing into the evening.