Power fully restored to more than 1,100 homes near Kelowna's Lakeshore Road

Photo: Contributed

A truck crashed into a power pole on Lakeshore Road early Sunday morning.

UPDATE: 9:40 a.m.

Power has now been fully restored along Kelowna's Lakeshore Road, after a truck knocked over a power pole early Sunday morning.

While FortisBC had aimed to have the power restored by 10:30 a.m., crews were able to get the lights back on an hour earlier than anticipated.

The outage impacted 1,176 homes between K.L.O. Road south to Lequime Road, and east to Gordon Drive. A number of businesses were impacted as well.

FortisBC's Nicole Brown said Lakeshore Road may remain closed by Rotary Beach for some time after power has been restored, as crews continue to fix the damage.

UPDATE: 8:50 a.m.

Power is expected to be restored to the 1,176 homes in Kelowna's Lakeshore area by 10:30 a.m. Sunday, but Lakeshore Road may be closed for some time.

FortisBC's Nicole Brown says crews are currently working to replace a power pole that was struck by a vehicle at about 5:45 a.m. Sunday.

"To complete the work, Lakeshore Rd will need to be closed by Rotary Beach and drivers will be detoured. Drivers are asked to avoid the area if possible and if they are in the area, to follow all traffic controls," Brown says.

"Traffic may continue to be affected after power is restored. Crews will restore power by putting a temporary structure and then will continue to complete repairs."

In addition to the hundreds of homes in the area losing power, the outage has also impacted many businesses.

UPDATE: 7:45 a.m.

Several Castanet readers say a vehicle crash caused the power outage in Kelowna's Lakeshore area Sunday morning.

A photo taken by one reader shows a crashed red truck near Lakeshore and Bechard roads that reportedly "smashed a power pole in half." Another reader says the truck was the only vehicle involved in the crash.

Power remains out for 1,176 homes in the area Sunday morning and FortisBC has no estimated time of when it might be restored.

ORIGINAL: 6:45 a.m.

More than 1,100 homes are without power in Kelowna's Lakeshore area Sunday morning, following a possible electrical transformer fire.

According to FortisBC, the power went out for 1,176 homes, from K.L.O. Road south to Lequime Road, just before 6 a.m.

A Castanet reader sent in a photo of what they believed to be an electrical transformer on fire along Lakeshore Road.

Another reader said police had blocked off traffic at Lakeshore and Richter Street.

FortisBC lists the cause the of the outage as “unknown.” The utility company does not have an estimated time of restoration.

Photo: FortisBC

Widespread power outage in Kelowna's Lakeshore area Sunday morning.