VANCOUVER — Hydro crews have been working through the night to reconnect tens of thousands of customers who lost power as a brutal windstorm swept across southwestern British Columbia.
More than 400,000 customers were left in the dark Saturday as 80 kilometre an hour winds brought trees and branches crashing down onto power lines, cars — and in Surrey onto a woman in her 40s who was walking with her daughter.
The RCMP described the woman's injuries as life-threatening.
The bulk of the outages occurred in the Greater Vancouver Area, and B.C. Hydro reported on its website early this morning that more than 260,000 customers were still waiting for the power to be restored.
Strong winds also swept through Rock Creek in the Kootenay Boundary region, where a 44-square kilometre wildfire destroyed 30 homes earlier this month.
The storm triggered wind warnings from Environment Canada, forced the temporary closure of Vancouver's Stanley Park, and slowed ferry service between Victoria and the mainland.
The cost of the extensive property damage and the bill for cleaning up the huge mess have yet to be tallied.
The Canadian Press