More than 800 Tri-City residents are without power Wednesday in a morning that saw high winds knocked out electricity across several areas in Metro Vancouver.
In the Tri-Cities, outages largely appear contained to two swathes in Coquitlam, according to BC Hydro’s Outages map.
The first outage, which began at 11:46 a.m., stretched from Robson Drive north through the Westwood Plateau neighbourhood as far as the southern reaches of Coquitlam Lake. In total, 732 BC Hydro customers are still without power here. A further 87 customers are without power in a band running along Quarry Road south of Burke Mountain.
SkyTrain service along the Millennium Line between Burquitlam Station and Coquitlam Station has also been disrupted after a tree fell on the tracks.
In an email to The Tri-City News, a spokesperson for TransLink said crews have been deployed to remove the tree but that until then, there is no service between the two stations.
#SkyTrain M-Line service between Burquitlam Stn & Coquitlam Stn is suspended due to fallen tree on the tracks. Trains operating between VCC-Clark/Burquitlam Stn & Lafarge Lake-Douglas Station/Coquitlam Stn. Expo Line & Canada Line are unaffected.^LA
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) November 27, 2019
“Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is in the process of setting up a bus bridge in both directions. Transit Supervisors and Transit Security are being dispatched to the impacted stations,” wrote the spokesperson.
In the meantime, TransLink suggests riders seek alternative routes using the transpor authority’s Trip Planning tool at http://tripplanning.translink.ca. Be sure to select “Don’t use SkyTrain” under the advanced search settings, or contact TransLink’s customer information desk at 604-953-3333 for trip planning advice.
As well, a dozen schools were without power this morning on the North Shore after wind knocked out power to about 19,000 customers. The outages come on the heels of a new cold weather system that has moved into the region.
Environment Canada predicts strong winds may cause damage as an arctic ridge of high pressure over the B.C. Interior will intensify. A current wind warning predicts strong northeasterly outflow winds of 70 km/h gusting to 90 over the Southern Gulf Islands, Howe Sound, Greater Victoria, the western and central Fraser Valley, and southeast sections of Metro Vancouver including Surrey and Langley.
“Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur. Loose objects may be tossed by the wind and cause injury or damage,” reads the warning.
