By David Wiwchar

“Bomb Cyclone” closes Highway 4

Nov 20, 2024 | 11:30 AM

Hurricane-force winds of more than 120 kilometres per hour hit parts of the B-C coast as a “bomb cyclone” overnight.

Environment Canada has released dozens of warnings related to the storm, covering most of Vancouver Island and other coastal areas and stretching deep into the Interior.

Highway 4 has been closed due to unsafe conditions caused by the strong winds.

R-C-M-P say emergency responders had been dispatched to “multiple” crashes on the hump which were caused by fierce winds and downed trees.

It remains unclear when the Highway 4 will be reopened but the next scheduled update at noon.

In town, firefighters said conditions were better than expected despite power outages and multiple trees down on roads.

Fire Captain Ben Halychuk said a tree came down on a vehicle on the hump but thankfully there were no injuries.

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“It was mostly small calls for us but there was definitely stuff on the go,” he said. “A lot of powerlines down, a lot of trees across lines that sort of thing. Lots of minor calls, but nothing really of a significant nature.”

Sproat Lake firefighters had to clear trees off the roads in order to get to calls.

Some areas of Beaver Creek and Cherry Creek are still without power this morning.

B-C Hydro’s Ted Olynyk says restoring the outages will be done a priority basis.

“Our plan is to bring on as many customers as we can at one time,” he said. “We do focus on emergency services to make sure that fire, police, hospitals, schools, community centres, and places that might be used as warming centres have their power restored.”

The high winds are expected to continue through most of the day and ease tonight….

Most customers still in the dark are on Vancouver Island, but there’s also some 600-thousand homes without power in nearby Washington.

Authorities say a woman in the northwestern state died last night when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment.

by David Wiwchar

“Bomb Cyclone” closes Highway 4

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