By Ian Holmes

BC Hydro hopes to have power restored to most Nanaimo customers Friday

Dec 21, 2018 | 9:52 AM

NANAIMO — Crews are scrambling to restore power to thousands of BC Hydro customers in the Nanaimo region, as many have been without power for nearly 24-hours.

Roughly 15,000 hydro customers don’t have electricity in the Nanaimo area as of Friday morning after a lethal wind storm whipped the region a day prior.

Ted Olynick, a Nanaimo-based spokesman for the power utility, said progress is being made in turning the lights and heat on again. He said 30,000 Nanaimo area customers were off the grid at the storm’s peak.

“We know we’re probably not going to have everyone up (Friday), there will be some customers that may not have their power restored until (Saturday) some time,” Olynick told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He cautioned it’s possible some customers won’t have power restored until Sunday.

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Olynick said crews have been brought in from the Lower Mainland to help, noting Nanaimo was the hardest hit area on Vancouver Island.

Olynick, a lifetime Nanaimo resident, said Thursday’s storm was the worst in terms of wind damage and power outages he can remember.

He said some Cedar and Yellow Point area roads are completely covered in tree debris.

“It looks like a field rather than a roadway with all of the debris on the road. I understand we even had to clean all the debris in Cedar with a snowplow,” Olynick said.

Ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes