Over 3,500 people are experiencing power outages in southern Vancouver Island due to the snowstorm and windstorm currently afflicting the area.
Two outages — one in Sooke and one in North Cowichan — are responsible for the majority of people without power. Two more outages in Victoria have affected nearly 1,000 people.
Crews have already been assigned to fix the outages in the following areas:
- South of Sooke Road, East of Possession Point Road in Metchosin — affecting 1126 customers.
- West of Truesdale Road in North Cowichan — affecting 1700 customers.
- East of West Coast Road in Victoria — affecting 483 customers.
- North-West of West Coast Road, South-East of Parkinson Road in Victoria — affecting 405 customers.
There are four other smaller power losses affecting the south island, leaving approximately 75 people without power.
The two main outages in Sooke and North Cowichan took place at 2:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively. The two Victoria blackouts both took place around 2:30 p.m.
All four incidents are under investigation from BC Hydro teams.
Environment Canada has issued a wind advisory predicting southeast winds of 70 to 90 km/h developing in Greater Victoria early in the evening on Wednesday.
That, in addition to the 30 centimetres of snow that blanketed the region last night, means it’s a precarious time on Vancouver Island right now.
Additionally, 3,661 customers are also without power in the northern half of the island due to major outages in Tofino and Port Mcneill, among others.
For the most up-to-date information on power outages, visit the BC Hydro outage website.
Files from Brishti Basu
