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Power out for more than 10,000 homes and businesses in Cowichan Valley; rest of Island not as hard hit

Trees falling on power lines believed to be the cause
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More than 6,400 homes and businesses in the Cowichan Valley lost their power on the morning of Oct. 27, likely the result of high winds in the area bringing branches and trees down on power lines.

Approximately 1,300 were plunged into the dark in the Youbou and Lake Cowichan areas at 10 a.m., and more than 3,610 were impacted in the Shawnigan Lake/Malahat area in two separate outages. In Cobble Hill/Mill Bay 2,087 customers lost power at 10:44 a.m. and in the Sahtlam area 1,747 people lost power at 10:40 a.m. In the Lakes and Herd Road area 1,930 customers lost power at 10:38 a.m.

BC Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk said it has been confirmed that falling trees in the Youbou area knocked out some power lines, while the blackout in the Shawnigan Lake area is still under investigation.

He said it’s not known at this time when the power will be back on.

“Due to a combination of severe weather conditions in the area recently, it doesn’t take as much to take trees down,” Olynyk said.

High winds and rain were affecting large parts of the coast, as a storm moved through.

Other areas on Vancouver Island were also reporting smaller numbers of power outages from Courtenay/Comox to Nanaimo and Greater Victoria.



Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
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