Thousands left without power after potent windstorm
Residents across southwestern British Columbia are tallying the damage after a powerful weekend windstorm ripped up trees, crushed vehicles and left half-amillion customers without power.
At the peak of the storm Saturday, winds gusted between 80 and 100 kilometres an hour.
Almost 28,000 customers were still without power Monday evening as crews from B.C. Hydro worked to fix damage caused by trees and branches toppled by the strong winds.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said thousands of trees had been affected in his community.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve lived all my life in Coquitlam and this was the worst wind-related damage,” he said.
“I saw literally hundreds of trees that had damaged transmission lines and overhead electrical wires. It’s been a real challenge for Hydro to get to all of these locations so they can get the system up and running again.”
Calls to 911 were up “enormously” in Coquitlam Saturday, Stewart said — though not all of the calls were emergencies. “I’m surprised by the number of people who think ‘My fence fell over in the wind’ is a 911 call,” he said.
Uprooted trees littered roads and crushed vehicles, and drivers immediately began filing claims with the Insurance Corp. of B.C.
ICBC spokesman Adam Grossman said they have received more than 4,000 calls and online claims over the weekend, and noted that damage from fallen trees is typi- cally covered under ICBC’s comprehensive coverage plan.
In Washington state, Puget Sound Energy spokesman Ray Lane said about 31,000 customers are without power. The hardesthit areas include parts of Skagit, Whatcom and Kitsap counties.
Officials have told people in rural areas to expect power to be restored by 6 p.m. today. Lane said at the peak of the storm on Saturday, about 235,000 PSE customers were without power.
Seattle City Light on Monday reported that nearly 2,500 customers remain without power.
The storm set a rainfall record for that date at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, dumping 3.25 centimetres in a 24-hour period. The previous record for that day was 2.2 cm in 1983.
Two people were killed in Saturday’s storm, including a 10-year-old girl.