Thousands without power after wind storm in B.C.
Updated Sat. Feb. 4 2006 11:27 PM ETCTV.ca News Staff
Fierce winds gusting up to 90 kilometres per hour in British Columbia left thousands of people without power as they blew through the southwest part of the province Saturday.
Officials believe as many as 40,000 hydro customers are without power, with most of the outages in the Lower Mainland.
"We had as many as 100,000 customers without power across British Columbia at the height of the storm, probably between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. ," said Elishah Moreno, spokesperson for BC Hydro.
"It's the usual suspects that are causing us grief, things like branches and trees on (power) lines."
Large areas of Vancouver Island were without power as were Pender and Cortez islands, said Moreno.
BC Hydro hopes to restore power to most people by Saturday night, but are asking their customers to be patient.
The municipality of Delta, B.C. declared a state of emergency and asked as many as 200 people to evacuate.
The town's mayor, Lois Jackson, called it the worst storm to hit the area in 30 years.
About 150 homes were battered by the winds. Residents affected by the flooding have been asked to stay in emergency shelters.
"We haven't ordered (people to stay in shelters)," said Jackson.
" We've suggested it because we don't know when power will be back on. We'll have another high tide tonight and if wind stays we'll be facing another big problem tonight."
A section of a dyke, built as a precaution against flooding, got swept away in the wind storm. George Harvie, the chief administrative officer for Delta, said the size of the dyke was insufficient.
"We're quite concerned about the fact that in previous years we've been able to build that sand berm higher and wider," said Harvie.
"But the Department of Fisheries this year decided to restrict that on size so we'll have to go back to fisheries and do what we think is necessary."
A crew of over 80 people scrambled to pump out standing water as high as 1.2 metres in the Tsawwassen area of Delta before the evening's high tide hit.
The storm disrupted ferry service to Vancouver Island, causing cancellations and delays, and resulted in major power outages.
Service between the mainland and Vancouver Island was expected to be back in full service by late evening, said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Betsy Terpsma to Canadian Press.
''It looks like things are returning to normal for us,'' she said.
In Vancouver, the high winds also forced the Lion's Gate Bridge to close.
Windsurfers loved Saturday's weather though. They were out early around the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and Deltaport to take advantage of the rare high winds.
"It's phenomenal," said Charles Whittaker, a windsurfer. "It's not too often you get winds like this around here."
The windsurfers reached speeds as fast as 30 kilometres per hour even with the smallest sails.
Meteorologists are still forecasting high winds for Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, the central coast and Fraser Valley. They expect the winds to diminish Saturday night.
"An intense low pressure system is currently moving onto the South Coast," Environment Canada said in a weather warning posted on its website. "Southeast winds will shift to northwest as the low moves inland."
Variable weather in rest of Canada
In Ottawa, people were wishing for cold winter weather at the opening weekend of the Winterlude festival.
Ice sculptors were nervous about their creations melting, especially since they only have one more day in the ice sculpture competition.
"None of the sculptures are very happy. It's really the worst weather for us," said Dan Rebholz, one of the sculptors.
The warmth also forced the National Capital Commission to close part of the Rideau Canal for skating.
In the meantime, it rained heavily in Toronto with forecasts that the rain will turn into snow by Sunday. The city expects to receive 10 centimetres of snow by Monday.
A winter storm warning has been issued from northern Ontario to Southern Quebec. Heavy rain or snow is expected to hit this region.
High winds of up to 60 kilometres per hour are being forecast for Southern Ontario on Sunday, accompanied by five to 10 centimetres of snow.
Heavy rain, of 25 to 40 millimetres, is also being forecast for Atlantic Canada on Sunday.
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