The historic storm that hit the Pacific Northwest region on Oct. 24 caused loss of power to tens of thousands of households across the province. The storm has been called a “weather bomb” by the Weather Network, and it set the record for lowest barometric pressure of 942.6 millibars recorded offshore near Tofino.

Cortes experienced one of the longest island-wide power outages in recent years, which lasted close to 48 hours in some neighbourhoods. Most people lost power early Sunday afternoon and waited until mid-morning on Tuesday for electricity that, in many cases, also enables running water.

Ted Olynyk, BC Hydro Manager of Community Relations for Vancouver Island, said it was fortunate that BC Hydro crews had arrived the night before to address unrelated issues. It was determined they would stay to repair damage-to-come from the brewing storm. In fact, the crews did not depart until Thursday morning (Oct. 28), he said.

Although the island was relatively spared in terms of damage due to its somewhat sheltered location, extensive repairs that included replacing broken poles had to first be carried out in Lund, which supplies electricity to Cortes.

Locally, the most common reason for a power outage is branches or whole trees falling on power lines. BC Hydro carries out vegetation maintenance year-round, and on the Gulf Islands this involves communicating with landowners whose property lines may come right to the public roads.

Olynyk emphasized important safety precautions around downed wires, reminding the public to stay at least 10 meters back, since a wire could remain energized. He also implored residents to make sure their house is labeled with a street address at their driveway.

There are two planned power outages on Cortes that have been postponed due to the major interruption from the storm. A pole replacement in Smelt Bay is now scheduled for Nov. 25, while work required in Mary Point does not yet have a set date but will hopefully happen in the same week. 

Listen to the CKTZ News update below: