As B.C. continues to batten down its hatches amid the third in a series of major fall storms, one resident who saw a tree fall onto her house last Friday says it’ll have to remain in place as high winds continue to batter the province.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has posted a swath of weather warnings throughout B.C., warning of high winds and rainfall, with more than 250 millimetres of rain possible locally on Vancouver Island.
In the Central Interior and Prince George area, thousands have remained without power for multiple days, as B.C. Hydro says the ongoing series of storms has made cleanup challenging.
Prince George resident Olivia Power lost power for three days, from last Friday to Sunday, due to one of the windstorms — which toppled a tree onto her house.
“We couldn’t really go outside to look at what had happened. We were just worried with the windstorm that more trees were going to fall down,” she said.
Power and her husband went into a basement hallway after the tree fell onto her house last Friday, not wanting to stay near windows as winds picked up. She said there is no water damage currently due to the fallen tree. (Submitted by Olivia Power)
Power said that a tree removal service she called wasn’t available until Wednesday at the earliest — but with winds picking up again, the tree would have to stay in place until at least Thursday.
ECCC said in an orange wind warning on Wednesday that winds could gust up to 90 km/h in the Prince George region.
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B.C. Hydro said in an update for the Central Interior that crews were having trouble accessing areas due to fallen trees and debris.
“Additional contractors, specialized equipment and resources have been brought into the region to support restoration efforts,” the utility wrote.
#BCStorm update: Crews have made significant progress restoring power in the Central Interior, with most main electrical lines in and around #CityofPG now restored. More than 180 workers continue restoration efforts around the clock as crews focus on remaining outages and areas with significant damage. Strong winds are expected through late afternoon and early evening and may cause additional outages. Stay back at least 10 metres from downed power lines and call 9-1-1 immediately. Read our latest operational update: https://t.co/MoKGIMYFbp
Power said that she spoke to some neighbours who told her the windstorms that struck Prince George and the Interior were unprecedented in nature.
“The community has really come together though,” she said.
“It’s been really nice to see a lot of people wanting to help clear trees and and whatnot, so it’s nice knowing that the community got each other’s back. Even if we do get hit by another strong storm.”
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Luke Lamplugh, who runs Prince George Property Cleanup, said the winds were so high last week that garbage from a nearby dump flew into trees and roof shingles fell into ditches.
He said he hauled over 1,300 kilograms of tree branches to the dump after the first storm hit Prince George late last week, and had some advice for residents as they continue to deal with high winds.
“If you’re on natural gas [heating], and the fans don’t work because the power is out, then you need to keep your windows closed and try and retain heat in the house,” he said.
“That’s really important for a lot of folks, especially seniors around here.”
Lamplugh also advised residents to store jugs of water in their freezer in case they lose power for multiple days.
