Properties from Pender Harbour to Port Mellon were affected by a windstorm that tore through the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland on Sunday, with more than 5,200 BC Hydro customers losing power on the Sunshine Coast.
Environment Canada says gusts of 90 kilometres per hour were recorded at Vancouver International Airport and numerous municipalities report trees toppled across roads, power lines, vehicles and a handful of homes, but no one was hurt.
A special weather alert was issued for the Sunshine Coast March 28, and in Sechelt, gusts climbed to 47 kilometres per hour by 6 p.m. Gusts of more than 72 kilometres per hour were recorded by Environment Canada in Howe Sound.
Trees falling on downed power lines caused the majority of blackouts on the Sunshine Coast, according to a BC Hydro outage list. Contractor crews worked overnight and by mid-morning Monday, 97 per cent of power was restored to the regions.
An estimated 180,000 customers were affected by the storm.
If residents come upon a downed power line, they are asked to call 911 and to stay at least 10 metres back from the site.
Outage updates can be found at: http://bchydro.com/outages
– with files from the Canadian Press
