It was shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday when Peter Fassbender heard a loud “thump” outside his home in Langley City.
Looking out into his front yard, he saw the neighbour’s tree had come crashing down onto his son Phil’s car.
“It was a big thump and I could feel it so I knew a tree had come down,” said Fassbender, who is former MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood and former Mayor of Langley City.
“It was the neighbour’s tree and it had come down and landed right smack on the back of my son’s car (and) modified it slightly. I think it’s probably what we call toast.”
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Luckily no one was hurt in the incident, but Fassbender says the tree just missed another driver.
“There was a car that was just driving by as the tree came down, and a branch brushed the back of her car,” he said. “She was like a couple of feet past where the tree came down. If she would have been 10 seconds later, the tree would have come right down on top of their car.”
With another storm forecasted to come through Wednesday, Fassbender is urging everyone to be prepared.
“My advice to everybody is check your trees, check your yard. It’s fall, we get lots of windstorms,” he said.
READ MORE: Heavy rains expected for Lower Mainland
Rain and wind swept through the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley Monday night and Tuesday morning, toppling trees, downing power lines and snarling traffic.
B.C. Hydro reported more than 19,000 customers were without service in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast, 3,000 in Langley.
Environment Canada said winds were gusting up to 60 km/h, shifting direction from the southwest to the west.
About 10 mm. of rain fell.
The amount of rain was expected to triple Wednesday, with the heavy rain starting before the morning rush hour and a total of up to 30 mm. expected.
Windy conditions were also in the forecast.
Rain is in the forecast through the weekend into Monday.
Environment Canada had issued a rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver and the North Shore, as well as a special weather statement for the Fraser Valley.
It said a frontal system over central B.C. is slowly moving southward and is set to bring 50-70 mm of rain.
Two storms, one Monday and one early Wednesday, were expected to hit the region.
Residents were being told expect flash flooding and heavy water on roads over the course of the week.
It was the second week of wet weather for the region.
