Nearly 8,000 homes were without power Monday morning after an intense winter storm brought strong winds and freezing temperatures to the eastern Fraser Valley.
Chilliwack appeared to be the hardest hit, with outages reported in the Cultus Lake/Vedder Mountain area where more than 1,000 BC Hydro customers were without power.
Cultus Lake ementary school was closed because of the power outage.
Areas also affected included Abbotsford, Langley and the District of Kent.
Most of the outages were caused by falling trees after strong arctic outflow winds pounded the area throughout the night.
Temperatures were -10 in Chilliwack Monday morning, with a windchill of -17.
Environment Canada issued an arctic outflow warning was issued by Environment Canada for the Fraser Valley.
“The bitterly cold conditions will persist through Tuesday but should improve by Wednesday,” the statement said.
“Be prepared for unusually cold temperatures and strong winds.”
Crews are responding to outages in #Abbotsford #LangleyBC #Chilliwack #KentBC affecting around 6,000 customers. Latest info will be on our mobile site as they arrive and assess. https://t.co/LuRH2Hi7NZ #BCStorm pic.twitter.com/QfQbL7wx3Y
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 4, 2019