Photo: Rob Gibson
A branch down on Gordon Drive and Cameron Avenue.
UPDATED: 4pm
The power outage along Westside Road has now been fixed, and power has been restored to the 276 homes in the Traders Cove area.
UPDATED: 2:30pm
Power has once again been restored to the 1,356 homes in Kelowna’s Lower Mission area Friday afternoon, although homes along Westside Road are still without.
After heavy snow caused a number of branches to fall across power lines in the region Friday morning, power was knocked out in the Lower Mission.
While the power was restored briefly around 11 am, it remained out for close to four hours. But at 2:15 pm, the lights came back on.
But in West Kelowna, there remains a separate outage along Westside Road in the Traders Cove area. Crews are on site at the scene of the outage, which is impacting 276 homes.
UPDATED: 12:30pm
While FortisBC had previously reported the outage in the Lower Mission had been fixed, the utility’s outage map now shows the 1,356 homes are without power again.
Power also remains out in the Traders Cove area, along Westside Road.
UPDATED: 11:10 am
Crews have repaired the outage in Kelowna’s Lower Mission area, restoring power to the 1,356 homes. But hundreds more homes along Westside Road are now without power as well.
BC Hydro reports 294 customers are without power along Westside Road up past the Traders Cove area. The outage was first reported at 10:14 am., and crews are expected to arrive just before noon.
There are also several small scattered outages in West Kelowna, on Merlot Way, Dominion Road and McMillan Road.
Photo: BC Hydro
ORIGINAL: 9:50 am
The heavy snow falling across Kelowna has caused branches to fall across power lines in the Gordon Drive area, leading to a large power outage in the area.
Friday morning, FortisBC reports 1,356 homes are without power in the lower Mission area due to the downed power lines.
The outage spreads south to the Bellevue Creek area along Gordon Drive and north to around the Mission Sports Field area. The outage was first reported at 9:21 am
Branches have also been reported down on power lines along Gordon Drive near Guisachan Road, on Bankhead Crescent, on Girard Road in Rutland and in other areas of the city. Several people have reported sparking lines where branches have hit.
Emergency crews are responding to the downed lines, and it appears Fortis crews are being kept busy.
Resident around the Okanagan woke to heavy snow falling Friday morning, with several centimeters of accumulation on the area roads. High-elevation highways are also in rough shape around the region.
Photo: Rob Gibson
Power lines hang low near Gordon Drive and Paret Road.
