Update: BC Hydro responds to severe weather event
VANCOUVER: BC Hydro crews have restored power to more than 219,000 customers throughout the province in the last 48 hours.
A windstorm on Monday afternoon caused power outages on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. During the afternoon peak, between 3 and 4 p.m., about 126,000 customers were without power with the hardest hit areas being Victoria, Surrey, Sechelt and Hope.
In the late afternoon and early evening, the wind caused power outages in the Interior and Okanagan/Kootenay regions. During the evening peak, between 7 and 8 p.m., about 82,000 customers were without power with the hardest hit areas being Williams Lake, Kamloops, 100 Mile House, West Kelowna and Vernon.
The timing of the storm, and access issues from heavy rain and flooding, led to some customers being without power overnight. BC Hydro crews and contractor crews worked throughout the night to restore power to the vast majority of impacted customers. Most customers left without power by Monday’s windstorm will have their power restored today – with exceptions where access roads are still closed, where crews cannot safely make repairs, or very remote locations that pose access challenges.
Heavy rainfall resulted in significantly higher inflows into local rivers. As a result, BC Hydro issued flood alerts on Monday related to the operation of the Wahleach (near Hope), Alouette (near Maple Ridge), Coquitlam and Daisy Lake-Cheakamus (near Squamish) reservoirs. All flood alerts, with the exception of Alouette, had been cancelled by Tuesday morning. BC Hydro staff continue to manage water levels carefully and work with provincial and local agencies.
BC Hydro thanks its customers impacted by the wind, heavy rainfall and flood alerts for their patience. The latest updates can be found at bchydro.com.
Update 2: BC Hydro responds to severe weather event
November 15 at 6 p.m.
VANCOUVER: BC Hydro continues to deal with the aftermath of the “atmospheric river” that impacted southern B.C., while also now responding to new power outages this afternoon on the south coast and Vancouver Island caused by strong winds.
- Afternoon windstorm: the number of customers without power, due to the windstorm, peaked between 3 and 4 p.m. at about 126,000. The hardest hit areas were the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast and the southern half of Vancouver Island. All available BC Hydro crews and contractor crews will continue to work throughout the evening and the night to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. Crews are still encountering issues accessing certain sites due to flooding. Status updates and estimated times for restoration are available at bchydro.com/outages.
- Clean up from atmospheric river: BC Hydro crews have developed a temporary fix for the transmission line in Hope that caused a power outage for the entire community overnight and again Monday morning. Crews manually patrolled the line and identified and isolated the issue, but will need to wait for better weather to fix it permanently. Customers who were initially impacted, may experience short, temporary power outages until the issue can be resolved with a permanent solution.
- Reservoir levels: Heavy rain has resulted in significantly higher inflows into local rivers. As a result, BC Hydro has issued flood alerts related to the operation of the Wahleach (near Hope), Alouette (near Maple Ridge), and Daisy Lake-Cheakamus (near Squamish) reservoirs. BC Hydro staff are managing water levels carefully and working with provincial and local agencies. BC Hydro is encouraging the public to stay away from impacted rivers, as flows can change rapidly.
BC Hydro reminds the public to stay at least 10 metres away from fallen power lines and to call 9-1-1 to report fallen power lines. For more information, visit bchydro.com.
BC Hydro responds to severe weather event
November 15, 2021 at 1 p.m.
VANCOUVER: Heavy rains, flooding and mudslides have caused outages to thousands in B.C. and high water inflows into BC Hydro’s reservoirs have resulted in several flood alerts.
- Transmission outages: BC Hydro crews worked overnight Sunday to respond to power outages caused by weather impacts on BC Hydro’s transmission infrastructure in the eastern areas of the Fraser Valley. Overnight, more than 5,200 customers in Hope were without power due to issues with multiple main transmission lines. Crews restored power at about 1 a.m., but power went out again at 7 a.m. Monday morning. BC Hydro crews are patrolling transmission lines to identify the cause of the outage, but weather conditions and lack of road access in some areas are challenging their efforts.
- Distribution outages: The weather has resulted in power outages in other areas as well, including Chilliwack, Maple ridge, Boston Bar and Spuzzum. In the Interior, heavy, wet snow brought down trees onto power lines that has impacted the communities of Golden, Parson, Donald and Field. Weather conditions and road closures are limiting crew access in many areas. Flooding has also led to power outages in Merritt.
- Reservoir levels: Increasing inflows from heavy rain in local rivers has resulted in flood alerts for residents downstream of three BC Hydro reservoirs – Coquitlam, Wahleach (near Hope), and Alouette (near Maple Ridge). BC Hydro staff are also working to manage water levels from Cheakamus (near Squamish), and Stave Lake (near Pitt Meadows) and may issue alerts for those reservoirs later today.
With several additional provincial flood alerts currently in place, BC Hydro is coordinating with provincial and local agencies and is asking residents to monitor the situation and be prepared for further instructions from local officials as the situation develops. BC Hydro is also encouraging the public to stay away from impacted rivers as flows can change rapidly.
BC Hydro is also preparing for high winds in the forecast for the Lower Mainland later today. BC Hydro appreciates its customers’ patience as repair work continues today and will provide updated estimates for power restoration as they become available at bchydro.com/outages.