Brief wind storm through Nanaimo serves as early season test

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Preparation includes “extensive vegetation management,” according to Olynyk, who said their goal is to lessen the frequency and severity of outages.

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Brief wind storm through Nanaimo serves as early season test

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In addition to work year-round clearing branches from near transmission lines, Hydro also works with its own internal meteorologists, third-party sources, and Environment Canada to ensure they’re ready if a storm looks set to hit a particular region.

“We know what’s coming up, making sure crews are available…and we also manage hydro generation facilities across the island, making sure they’re prepared if there’s going to be a heavy inflow of water.”

He said both residents and businesses share some responsibility in these situations.

BC Hydro recommends creating a 72-hour emergency kit with enough food, water, power, medication, and other essentials to last three days without any support.

Olynyk added if any lines are downed as a result of a storm, as was the case in Cedar overnight, the area should be kept clear.

“The line could still be energized if it never tripped out when it hit the ground. We could be trying to bring the system on remotely, or someone in the area has a generator and it’s not wired properly, and they’ve just plugged it into their home, and it’s feeding back into the system, in essence, making the lines live.”

Details on BC Hydro outages are available on their website.

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