Strong winds sweeping across the Lower Mainland have left thousands of BC Hydro customers in Ridge Meadows without power on Wednesday morning, where there are currently 15 active outages.
Some of those outages are reported at schools.
The local district is reporting a loss of power at Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary as well as Whonnock Elementary and Davie Jones Elementary schools.
“Whonnock Elementary is closed this morning, but will re-open at noon if power is restored by that time,” the district said. “Davie Jones Elementary and Samuel Robertson Technical are open but families are encouraged to keep children home until power is restored.”
The community is asked to monitor the district website for updates.
Meanwhile, all BC Hydro crews are on deck working to restore the outages.
“As the storm is moving its way across the province, its causing extensive damage to BC Hydro’s electrical system due to branches and trees breaking contacting its equipment. More outages are expected as a result of the wind,” the corporation said.
All available crews are working to restore power to customers affected by #BCStorm. Find outage updates and the latest crews status on our mobile site: https://t.co/WFPFZF9XUd Watch this video to learn more and understand what our crew status means. pic.twitter.com/rtVpOsyn5F
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) January 13, 2021
Many of the current outages in Ridge Meadows were first recorded overnight starting around 1 a.m. with the latest recorded around 7 a.m.
But the Maple Ridge fire chief said it wasn’t as bad as other storms.
In total, crews responded to 14 calls from midnight to until 09:30 this morning, Howard Exner said, 13 of which were for wire down.
“Two places were of particular issue, Rothsay Street and 280th Street, which were shut down for most of the day,” he noted. “One call for a hydro pole fire that caused one of the many blackouts.”
BC Hydro said is reminding the public that a downed power line is an emergency and to keep distance.
“A downed power line is considered an emergency situation and members of the public should stay at least 10 metres back and call 911 immediately,” they said.
READ MORE: Heavy winds leave over 44,000 in Lower Mainland without power, 100,000 across B.C.
There are currently more than 36,000 customers across the Lower Mainland without power.
For updates on current outages visit www.bchydro.com/safety-outages/power-outages/outage_map.html.
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