B.C. storm knocks out power to more than 13,000 customers, forces ferry cancellations
CBC
B.C. Ferries cancelled all sailings between the mainland and Vancouver Island on Friday evening as a storm battered British Columbia's South Coast with strong winds and significant amounts of rain.
The cancellations affected all scheduled routes after 8:15 p.m. PT, B.C. Ferries said, except a handful of late sailings to the Sunshine Coast, Salt Spring Island, and Bowen Island.
Environment Canada said the region could see gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour and an estimated 70 millimetres of rain.
As of 10 p.m. Friday, more than 13,000 B.C. Hydro customers had lost power, the Crown utility said, including nearly 2,900 in Delta, B.C., a similar number in Surrey, nearly 2,000 on the Sunshine Coast, and more than 1,600 on northern Vancouver Island.
Environment Canada issued winter storm warnings for the Coquihalla Highway. As a precaution, B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation closed Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon south of Lytton.
The ministry said the route will be closed from midnight until approximately 9 a.m. PT Saturday. Geotechnical engineers will conduct a safety assessment Saturday morning.
The closure stretches from Boothroyd, north of Boston Bar, up to Lytton.
There will be local access for communities on Blue Lake Road in the south and Duncan Road in the north.
Environment Canada says a "vigorous frontal system" expected to cross British Columbia's South Coast is bringing heavy rain and wind for some regions of the province and snow for others, until at least Saturday.
The agency has issued multiple warnings for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, saying 50 to 70 millimetres of rain is expected to hit parts of the area beginning Friday night..
Forecasters say the rain should taper off over parts of Metro Vancouver on Saturday morning but will persist in the Fraser Valley until the evening.
Wind warnings also cover much of the region, as well as portions of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, with gusts of up to 90 km/h expected before the wind eases Saturday morning.
Environment Canada says the wind could cause power outages and downpours could be heavy enough to lead to flash floods and water pooling on roads.
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