Weather causes havoc around Victoria

High winds blow trees down, knock power out for hours

School children on spring break practise their daredevil skills on the outside edge of the Ogden Point breakwater Monday. Winds gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour created big waves on the waterfront and caused damage elsewhere around the city and region.

School children on spring break practise their daredevil skills on the outside edge of the Ogden Point breakwater Monday. Winds gusting up to 100 kilometres per hour created big waves on the waterfront and caused damage elsewhere around the city and region.

Strong winds caused a number of events in Victoria throughout Monday, but no injuries have been reported.

At around 8 a.m. Victoria police and fire departments were called to the 800-block of Fisgard Street, where a tree had fallen on overhead power lines. It was determined not dangerous to the public, said Victoria police Const. Mike Russell.

On the Gorge waterway, a white sailboat came loose from its moorings and was drifting in the water. No one was onboard and it was not considered a hazard on the waterway, Russell said. The owner of the boat could not immediately be reached.

Around 9 a.m., a witness reported construction items flying in the wind at Discovery and Store streets. One of the items, which looked like Fibreglas, struck a live power line and caused a small explosion. None of the nearby power lines were affected.

Thousands of B.C. Hydro customers lost power for various stretches of the day due to the windstorm, including hundreds in James Bay and a section of downtown Victoria. Black Press’ building on Broughton Street was in the dead zone for much of the day, which hampered production of Wednesday’s edition of the News.

editor@vicnews.com

Victoria News