Thousands of people across B.C.’s south coast woke up without power Saturday after strong winds rocked the regionovernight.
BC Hydro is reporting that more than 70,000 customers are in the dark in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island andsurrounding Gulf Islands, due to downed lines and fallen trees.
READ MORE: Much of B.C. seeing snow, -40 C wind chills
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The power utility said in a statement on social media that crews will be working throughout the day to get the power back onto those impacted.
Latest #BCStorm updates for this morning: crews have been working through the night and this morning to restore power from the ongoing windstorm. We continue to see strong winds and new outages in many areas this morning and right now just over 70,000 customers are without power.
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 9, 2019
If anyone sees downed power lines they are urged to stay back at least 10 metres and dial 911.
BC Ferries has cancelled multiple sailings, including every sailing to-and-from the Horseshoe Bay terminal. Video posted tosocial media shows a nearby marina taking a beating from choppy waters, causing extensive damage to the dock.
READ MORE: Ferry terminal closed due to choopy waters
Flights have been cancelled out of Abbotsford and Victoria. It appears at this time that no flights have been cancelled due tothe winds from Vancouver International Airport.
On Friday, up to 10 centimetres of snow fell across southern and eastern Vancouver Island. The national weather agency saysthat Arctic air will bring temperatures as low as -20 C overnight in the Fraser Valley.
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