Thousands of BC Hydro customers remained without power Tuesday morning after an overnight windstorm toppled trees and downed power lines on B.C.’s south coast.
Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands were the hardest-hit regions, with more than 7,000 homes and businesses still in the dark as of 8:30 a.m.
Crews were still working to restore power to thousands of customers in Saanich, as well as on Galiano, Mayne, Saturna and Salt Spring islands, where BC Hydro says service was knocked out by trees falling onto power lines.
Winds were forecast to reach up to 90 km/h over parts of the south coast Monday night before the low-pressure system moved inland, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
The windstorm prompted BC Ferries to cancel evening sailings along its major routes between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland.
While ferry services returned to normal Tuesday morning, the backlog in traffic caused multiple-sailing waits for travellers on some routes.
