VICTORIA -- More than 13,000 BC Hydro customers were without power on Vancouver Island and nearby Gulf Islands Tuesday as a windstorm swept across coastal B.C.
By 2:45 p.m., approximately 13,351 island residents had lost electricity, ranging from Campbell River to Tofino to Sidney and Saanich.
Meanwhile, on Salt Spring Island, more than 1,000 BC Hydro customers lost power. On nearby Cortes Island and Quadra Island, BC Hydro warned residents that power would not be restored until at least Wednesday morning.
“Heavy winds have caused significant outages on Vancouver Island and the northern Gulf Islands,” said BC Hydro in an update at 2:40 p.m.
Most of Vancouver Island’s outages were attributed to Tuesday’s windstorm, according to BC Hydro.
Across the majority of Vancouver Island, wind warnings were issued Tuesday, with some regions seeing wind gusts of up to 110 km/h.
In Greater Victoria, winds of up to 90 km/h swelled throughout the day before easing overnight.
The province’s stormy winds prompted BC Ferries to cancel multiple sailings to and from Vancouver Island on Tuesday.
Further information on the weather alerts posted for Vancouver Island can be found here.
For the latest updates on power outages, visit BC Hydro’s website here.
