Heavy winds and rain knock out power to nearly half-a-million British Columbians, lead to Central Coast streamflow advisory

Heavy rain and winds kept BC Hydro crews working ’round the clock over the weekend.

At one point, nearly half a million customers were without power province-wide, down to about 30,000 by yesterday afternoon.

Most of those were in the northern and central Interior, where crews say the soft-muddy terrain made repairs extra difficult.

Close to a thousand customers, mostly in the Vanderhoof, Burns Lake, and Fraser Lake areas remain without power this morning.

Winds had hit 120 kilometres an hour up the coast and on Haida Gwaii over the weekend, and were around 100 in Prince George and Quesnel too.

They’re expected to hit similar speeds on Haida Gwaii today, and hover around 70 up the coast.

Heavy rain up to 40 mm, is expected for the north and central coast as well, after close to 200 mm over the weekend.

That’s resulted in a high streamflow advisory for the Central Coast.