A tree hangs over Brenton Page Rd., just north of Ladysmith on Wednesday morning. (submitted photo)

By Alex Rawnsley

fall storm

Overnight wind, rain and snow force closures and power outages across mid-Island

Oct 25, 2023 | 8:47 AM

NANAIMO — The first kiss of winter across the mid-Island this season has had a ripple effect.

Considerable overnight wind, rain and wet snow has seen trees topple, taking power lines with them in some cases, and resulting in around 4,000 BC Hydro customers without electricity as of early Wednesday, Oct. 25.

A majority of outages are in the Ladysmith area, with BC Hydro’s Ted Olynyk telling NanaimoNewsNOW the region was one of the hardest hit.

“Vancouver Island got hit pretty hard. Right now (9 a.m. Wednesday morning) we’re down to about 20,000 customers out on Vancouver Island. Hard hit areas have been Ladysmith, the Gulf Islands, parts of Nanaimo, they seemed to take the brunt of the storm.”

Thousands were without power on Wednesday, Oct. 25, a result of a quick but powerful wind and rain storm which moved through the region. (BC Hydro)

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Upwards of 95,000 customers in the Lower Mainland, south coast, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island were without power at the peak of last night’s event.

Olynyk said they’ve got all their crews, as well as available contractors out restoring power. Several outages were restored already through the early Wednesday morning hours.

BC Hydro is also reminding people to call 911 if they see downed power lines anywhere and to stay at least 10 metres back.

Olynyk added it’s never safe to assume a line is inactive just because it’s on the ground, as generators or other infrastructure could still see electricity pass through a power line even if it’s on the ground.

With the outages in Ladysmith, School District 68 made the decision to close both Ladysmith Primary and Secondary schools for the day.

“If your child has already left for school, please make arrangements to pick up your child this morning, if possible. Staff are onsite to ensure the safety of students who are not able to be picked up,” a tweet from the District read.

SD68 also warned school bus pickup would be delayed throughout the region Wednesday morning as a result of trees and other debris on area roads.

Upwards of 70 millimetres of rain fell in the region over a 24 hour span beginning Tuesday, Oct. 24.

Cool overnight temperatures also dropped the snow level with accumulation reported along highways to the north of Nanaimo, including Hwy. 19 into Cumberland, Courtenay and Comox.

Higher elevation snow stuck on Mt. Benson and parts of west Nanaimo, while wet flurries were reported closer to the water Tuesday night.

Area highways however were largely unobstructed for the Wednesday morning commute.

DriveBC highway cameras show little to no snow along Hwy. 19 to the north, or Hwy. 1 to the south of Nanaimo.

More accumulation occurred on Hwy. 4 between Cameron Lake and Port Alberni, however the roadway itself was clear.

Mt. Benson received its first snowfall of the season overnight Tuesday, into Wednesday, with a relatively low snow level. (submitted photo)

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