FortisBC announced in a Sept. 10 press release that “pockets of outages” still remain throughout Creston and areas along the eastern shore of Kootenay Lake, three days after a windstorm swept through the Valley and downed both trees and power-lines.
“Right now, it’s all hands on deck in the heavily forested area along the east shore of Kootenay Lake, and unless there more trees come down on our lines, or there is unforeseen damage, we expect to have power back up for everyone today,” said Nicole Brown, FortisBC’s corporate communications advisor.
She added that crews have been working since Monday to clear trees and safely restore power, which has been restored to more than 5,400 customers in the Valley, including most customers in Crawford Bay and Kaslo.
READ MORE: Creston Fire Rescue responds to more than 25 calls due to windstorm
“We can assure you that they won’t slow down until every single customer is restored,” said Brown. “And neither will the many crews we’ve brought in from other areas to support them.”
In a Sept. 9 press release, Brown said that about 6,000 customers in the Kootenay area lost power due to trees damaging four transmission lines and many smaller lines that provide service to the area.
“Trees weakened by the initial windstorm may continue to fall on our lines over the coming days. As a result, we encourage customers to be prepared for intermittent outages,” said Brown.
In the waking hours of Sept. 7, the Creston Valley was hit with a windstorm that saw gusts of wind reach maximum speeds of 75 km/h, according to Environment Canada.
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