Thousands of people on 91原创 Island were without power on Christmas Day as the second wind storm of the week hit the coast.
Much of the Island is under both a wind and rainfall warning and should expect a storm more widespread and longer than Monday night’s storm, an Environment Canada alert said.
Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands are under a wind warning, with gusts up to 100 km/h possible from late Wednesday morning and into Boxing Day.
Juan de Fuca Strait may experience elevated water levels at high tide on Boxing Day morning, Environment Canada said.
Around noon, B.C. Hydro reported outages to more than 3,000 customers on the Island. Nearly half of those affected were on Salt Spring Island and Pender Island, where a tree took down a wire around 11:30 a.m.
Outages in Campbell River, Courtenay and Sayward were affecting hundreds in the morning while crews investigated the cause.
By early evening, about 1,400 customers remained without power on the North Island due to heavy winds, and B.C. Hydro said some outages are expected to continue overnight due to ferry cancellations. On Quadra Island, 385 customers were expected to be without power overnight, as well as 50 on Denman Island and 12 on Cortes Island.
Crews were standing by and ready to make repairs once ferry sailings resume, B.C. Hydro said.
B.C. Ferries cancelled Christmas Day sailings on several routes, including the major runs between 91原创 Island and the Lower Mainland. Some morning sailings on Boxing Day have also been cancelled.
Residents of West Bamfield were expected to be in the dark overnight due to a damaged pole that required specialty equipment to repair, and customers in Quatsino could be without power through Friday due to specialty equipment required and the inclement weather forecast.
“We’ve heard a significant event coming in today, but at the end of the day, it’s always up to Mother Nature what happens,” said B.C. Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk. “Things can change quickly.”
Heavy snowfall on the Strathcona Parkway slowed traffic to a standstill on Christmas Day, Mount Washington Alpine Resort said on its website around 11 a.m. Chain-up lights were turned on and crews were working to clear snow as the storm continued.
Anyone hoping to visit the resort should have winter tires, chains and patience, said the resort, which was reporting 20 centimetres of snow in the past 24 hours and forecasting 15-25 cm to come with wind gusts up to 135 kilometres per hour.
Skiers and snowboarders in the backcountry are advised to make conservative terrain choices due to high avalanche risk on the Island. Avalanche Canada is forecasting a high danger rating to continue through Thursday due to “copious snowfall” that will need time to stabilize.
A few dozen vehicles that were not prepared for snow delayed snow removal on the Strathcona Parkway after getting stuck, said Chris Cowley, general manager of Mainroad North Island Contracting.
“If they go up a hill and then they slide sideways down the hill, now they’re blocking both directions,” he said.
Snow was coming down heavily but it was warm, creating wet snow and a “greasy issue on the roads,” Cowley said.
“We’re just going up and down plowing snow, puting down sand behind us, but we plow it off, we put it down again and then plow it off again. So it does become a bit tricky, but if you have good winter tires and or chains, you’ll be fine,” he said.
High elevations of Highway 19 were seeing rain during the day but could see snow overnight, Cowley said.
Tree-falling subcontractors were at the ready to respond to downed trees due to wind.
“We’ve got numerous units out patrolling with chainsaws and everything they’ll need to clear a road of a tree as well,” he said.
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