BC Hydro crews are busy Thursday morning in Chilliwack and across southern B.C. as the latest winter storm turned, as predicted, to freezing rain overnight.
As of 10:30 a.m. there were 28,000 customers without power across the Lower Mainland.
Chilliwack Fire Department crews were also busy all over town as branches and trees are collapsing on to power lines and on roadways, particularly in the western portions of the city.
City work crews are also currently responding to calls about localized flooding and downed trees. To report a downed tree or flooding, call the operations department at 604-793-2810.
BC Hydro warns that if you come across a downed or damaged power line, assume it is live and a danger. Stay back at least 10 metres (the length of a bus) and dial 911 to report.
Overall in Chilliwack, close to 6,000 customers were without power as of 9:30 a.m.
At last report, firefighters were being dispatched as there were reports from the Chilliwack Mountain/Old Orchard Road area that “many, many” trees are coming down on BC Hydro lines.
Just after 9:30 a.m. there was a report of a power pole down on Chilliwack Central Road halfway between Banford and Prest.
A list of most of the outages as of 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 9. For a complete list visit BC Hydro:
• 2,470 customers affected in an area from east Abbotsford including much of Yarrow, all of Cultus Lake and much of the Chilliwack River Valley. No estimated time on.
• 175 customers in an area of Greendale around South Sumas, Blackburn and Chadsey roads. A crew has been assigned.
• 916 customers west of Kitchen Road, east of Tower Road north to Latimer Road. Crew not yet assigned.
• 640 customers on Chilliwack Mountain down to Progress Way and on the Shxwha:y Reserve are without power. No crew is assigned.
• 241 customers affected in Ryder Lake. No crew has yet been assigned.
• 1,912 without power affecting essentially all of East Chilliwack. Crews are en route
• 177 customers affected closer to downtown, mostly on the Skwah Reserve and in the residential area around Princess and Ashwell. No crew yet assigned.
• 125 customers affected in an overlapping outage in an area north of Wellington, west of Corbould, east of Reece and south of Herron. No crew yet assigned.
Most customers in the core of the city from Chilliwack to Sardis still do have power, and Rosedale, Popkum and Agassiz are as of yet unaffected by outages.
BC Hydro posted this alert on its website:
“All regions Snow and freezing rain has once again impacted customers across Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley. Crews and contractors will be working through the day as the storm develops. The safety of the public and our crews remains our top priority. Individual restoration times may vary and will be provided as they become available. All planned outages have been cancelled for the remainder of the week as crews focus on storm damage. We thank you for your patience.”
paul.henderson@theprogress.com
@PeeJayAitch