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Thousands without power

UPDATE 11:30 a.m.

BC Hydro says it could take until Monday morning to restore power to some areas of southwestern British Columbia after a windstorm tore through the region during the weekend.

The utility says an estimated 500,000 customers were left in the dark on Saturday as 80-kilometre-an-hour winds brought trees and branches crashing down onto power lines, cars — and in Surrey onto a woman in her 40s who was walking with her daughter.

The RCMP described the woman's injuries as life-threatening.

The bulk of the outages occurred in the Greater Vancouver Area, and BC Hydro says that as of 10 a.m. Sunday about 180,000 customers were still waiting for the power to be restored.

The utility estimated it would have power back on to various areas in the Metro Vancouver region as early as noon on Sunday and as late as 12:30 Monday morning.

Strong winds also swept through Rock Creek in the Kootenay Boundary region, where a 44-square-kilometre wildfire destroyed 30 homes earlier this month.

The storm triggered wind warnings from Environment Canada, forced the temporary closure of Vancouver's Stanley Park, and slowed ferry service between Victoria and the mainland.

The cost of the extensive property damage and the bill for cleaning up the huge mess have yet to be tallied.

BC Hydro said in a release that crews are addressing public safety issues first and "aim to get power back for highest density areas in order to get as many customers back as possible."


ORIGINAL

Hydro crews continue working to reconnect tens of thousands of customers who lost power as a windstorm swept across southwestern British Columbia.

BC Hydro says an estimated 500,000 customers were left in the dark Saturday as 80 km/h winds brought trees and branches crashing down onto power lines, cars — and in Surrey onto a woman in her 40s who was walking with her daughter.

The RCMP described the woman's injuries as life-threatening.

The bulk of the outages occurred in the Greater Vancouver Area, and BC Hydro says that as of 5 a.m. Sunday approximately 187,000 customers were still waiting for the power to be restored.

Strong winds also swept through Rock Creek in the Kootenay Boundary region, where a 44-square-kilometre wildfire destroyed 30 homes earlier this month.

The storm triggered wind warnings from Environment Canada, forced the temporary closure of Vancouver's Stanley Park, and slowed ferry service between Victoria and the mainland.

The cost of the extensive property damage and the bill for cleaning up the huge mess have yet to be tallied.

BC Hydro said in a release that crews are addressing public safety issues first and "aim to get power back for highest density areas in order to get as many customers back as possible."

"We're hoping to restore power to the majority of customers by noon Sunday," the utility said.



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