UPDATE: January 14th, 8:44 am
BC Hydro has restored power to 97 percent of customers affected by a storm that struck BC on January 13th.
Around 220,000 households now have power back on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the lower mainland and the southern interior.
On Jan. 13, BC Hydro announced that about 30,000 customers were still without power, including about 9,300 in the south interior.
There are still about 100 houses left in the dark in Lake Country.
“The crews will continue to work throughout the day and expect all remaining customers to be restored today,” BC Hydro stated on the morning of January 14th.
You can find a list of failures here.
January 13, 11:35 a.m.
FortisBC announced that electricity was restored to the Big White area after a tree that fell into a power line was removed.
The blackout delayed the ski area’s opening on Wednesday morning, but the lifts are operational.
Currently 19,951 BC Hydro customers are still without power as the crews continue to operate. In Lake Country and Vernon, around 5,739 customers are still without electricity.
The Westside Road between Vernon and Kelowna will remain closed. Approximately 45 BC Hydro customers in West Kelowna are in the dark and the crews have not yet been assigned to repair and restore power to the area.
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A strong inland storm crashes power lines across the region, leaving thousands of residents without electricity.
Environment Canada issued a weather statement that gusty winds are expected throughout the morning on Wednesday June 13 and will subside in the afternoon.
Gusts of 50 to 70 kilometers per hour are to be expected.
The winds knocked down several power lines across the region. There are reports that the Westside Road between Vernon and Kelowna has been closed due to failed power lines and there is no electricity in the area.
In the Okanagan there is about 11,787 BC. Chr. Hydro customers without electricity. The areas affected include Armstrong, Spallumcheen, Coldstream, Vernon, Lake Country, and Peachland.
174 golden customers were also reported without power.
From Revelstoke to Salmon Arm, 4,672 BC Hydro customers are without power.
Overall, BC Hydro stated that around 100,000 customers in all of the southern interior, lower mainland, Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands are without power.
In Kelowna, 2,100 FortisBC customers are without power, including residents of Big White. The crews are currently working on repairing the failed lines.
READ: Supply Management Keys to British Columbia’s Dairy Industry Survival, Says Okanagan Farmer
Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
Storm
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