The North Island lost power once again in a winter storm with wind whipping faster than 60 km/hr on Dec. 30. Power went out in Port Hardy, Port McNeill, Port Alice and Alert Bay just before 1 p.m.
B.C. Hydro crews are on route to a tree that fell across transmission lines that connect the whole North Island
Crews hope to have power restored by 10 p.m. tonight.
As with each storm this season, BC Hydro reminds customers that “we know that we’re going to get more of these storms and they’re going to be more intense as a result of climate change.
“So we are of course making more adjustments to the way we work,” said communications manager Ted Olynyk, pointing especially to vegetation management.
“A little bit of heat and good rain can make things sprout up faster than normal,” he said. Crews are more regularly looking for hazard trees that can fall across lines in even light storms. Climate change, he says, have also accelerated things like insect damage to trees, meaning they are more likely to fall across power lines.
For current updates on power in your area, visit https://www.bchydro.com/power-outages.
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