Power outages caused by strong winds in Abbotsford on Tuesday affected more than 6,000 customers at the peak of the storm.
The outages were caused mainly by trees falling on power lines. In one case, the winds resulted in a tree falling across Dawson Road, west of Sumas Mountain Road, blocking traffic in both directions until it could be cleared.
Power was restored to most homes in Abbotsford before 11:30 a.m., including the biggest area, which affected about 4,200 customers north of Hawthorne Avenue, east of Emerson Street, west of Beck Road and South of Arcadian Way.
Another area in Abbotsford and Mission affected 1,110 customers and was located west of Shook Road, north of Lougheed Highway, south of Kirkpatrick Avenue and east of Dewdney Trunk Road. Power there was restored by 11:33 a.m.
However, some areas were still without power as of 2 p.m., including about 950 homes in east Abbotsford and Chilliwack in an area bordered south of Lougheed Highway, west of Lickman Road, north of No. 5 Road and east of Brown Road.
An area of Abbotsford-Langley, affecting about 1,600 customers, was also without power as of 2 p.m. That section is located south of 82 Avenue, east of 230 Street, north of 44 Avenue and west of Starr Road.
The current estimated restoration time for the remaining outages is 9 p.m., but the BC Hydro website indicates that updates will be provided as available.
“Crews will continue to work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” the website states.
More information is available at bchydro.com/outages.
Environment Canada issued a wind warning on Tuesday for Abbotsford and Chilliwack, with gusts of 60 to 80 km/h expected throughout the day, tapering off to 30 km/h after midnight.
(Below: This map shows the largest area in Abbotsford be impacted by high winds on Tuesday, affecting 4,200 BC Hydro customers.)
