BC Hydro spokesperson Ted Olynyk says all power in the Capital Region should be restored by 6 p.m. today.
The current outage affects 2,200 people in Greater Victoria with the hardest hit areas being North Saanich and Salt Spring Island.
RELATED: Greater Victoria snowfall breaks 2014 record
Olynyk says that while the power grid is quite resilient despite the number of outages, the bigger issue is the number of trees on the Island. According to Olynyk, the Island has the most trees per kilometre in North America.
Snow accumulation and weakened branches from past storms are causing problems when combined with the heavy wet snow that has been falling.
Additional crews are arriving to the #Gulfislands to assist with restoration on new outages that we're seeing as a result of the winter conditions. Here's 7 things you should know about how we restore power during a storm: https://t.co/Zb9X2cFzZP #BCStorm pic.twitter.com/aQhEYSU8p1
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 12, 2019
Olynyk warns the rain in the forecast will probably cause more headaches.
“A concern will be with the [upcoming rain], that snow absorbs rain and then it’s not just white fluffy snow – it becomes a Slurpee,” says Olynyk.
RELATED: Power outage affects more than 7,600 people in south Island region
The heavy snow causes branches and trees to fall on or come in contact with power lines which causes outages.
Currently, BC Hydro is responding to outages in Sidney, North Saanich, Salt Spring Island and in the Qualicum Beach area.
Crews will be responding to an outage affecting 3,100 customers in #QualicumBeach. They'll provide updates as available here: https://t.co/tdJLmq6UoS pic.twitter.com/F4T7CQpFrq
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 12, 2019
Crews will be responding to an outage affecting 640 customers in #NorthSaanich. They'll provide updates as available here: https://t.co/G1zHWspMe1 pic.twitter.com/3QXnEhfH8s
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) February 12, 2019
For more information on current outages click here.
To report an outage in your area click here.
kendra.crighton@blackpress.ca
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