This tree at a home on Tahoe Ave. was pulled out of the ground right to it's roots thanks to the intense winds. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

HOWLING

Cleanup begins following major windstorm in Nanaimo, causing ‘amazing damage’ to homes and infrastructure

May 19, 2022 | 11:49 AM

NANAIMO — The storm has subsided and residents across the central Island have their brooms out sweeping away the debris.

Power outages were widespread throughout the region on Wednesday, May 18, with the storm’s peak seeing around 60,000 Island customers without electricity including 20,000 in Nanaimo.

BC Hydro spokesperson Ted Olynyk told NanaimoNewsNOW the central Island was hit unusually hard, while areas to the north were largely spared.

“We’re moving crews from that area down to the hard-hit areas of Nanaimo, the Gulf Islands and Duncan. We’re also bringing crews in from Vancouver and that’s a tell, when we bring crews in from Vancouver it’s a significant event over here.”

Nanaimo Airport recorded peak wind gusts of 72 kilometres per hour, according to Environment Canada. It saw leaves on trees act as mini sails to break off branches and uproot trees.

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A tree cracked but landed safely in the backyard of a Cathers Lake property on Wednesday. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

As of late Thursday morning, around 2,200 customers were still in the dark. Olynyk said damage sustained to infrastructure was extensive.

“In the Nanaimo area, we should have everybody up tonight (Thursday, May 19). We’re still having some troubles on the Gulf Islands to deal with, some pockets of Duncan and maybe the Victoria area…this was a significant event with some pretty amazing damage.”

Damage was also extensive as many homes had their roof shingles ripped off and multiple reports of trees falling onto homes.

Sheryl Ellis lives on Cathers Lake and was inside her home with her teenage son early Wednesday afternoon watching the wind blow when they heard a loud crack.

“The top of this tree broke off…there’s a natural split in the tree, and I guess at the junction it was just too weak and it just came floating down.”

The roughly 10-metre section of the tree narrowly avoided her home.

Home owner Sheryl Ellis said the broken tree feel perfectly in her backyard, managing to avoid any damage to her property. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

“I couldn’t have asked the angels to drop it better. It hasn’t hit the stairway, it didn’t hit the patio table, it didn’t hit our deck or roof, it didn’t even knock over the wheelbarrow planter. It landed perfectly.”

Fallen trees were a common callout for fire crews across the region.

Trees fell at multiple points on area highways, including a brief closure of the Nanaimo Parkway Wednesday morning and the Trans-Canada Hwy. in the afternoon.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue said their call volumes were up over 50 per cent from a normal day with two extra engines staffed by off-duty officers put into service.

Trees fell across the Nanaimo Parkway Wednesday morning as a result of high winds, one of dozens of similar reports leading to multiple delays and power outages. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Percy Tipping, North Cedar Fire Department chief, said they had upwards of 20 members out during the day and responded to around 15 separate calls related to the storm.

Calls ranged from fallen trees to downed power lines and other issues stemming from the storm, in addition to the usual medical aid calls which frequently come in.

“One of the key things in this is it’s not a half-hour call, this is a long event spanning eight or 10 hours so it’s a significant contribution from the members to donate their time to coming out and ensuring public safety.”

Crews had to stay on scene for an extended period at around a half dozen of the call-outs on Wednesday, ensuring passersby didn’t get into issues with deactivated but downed power lines or fallen trees.

Tipping added many other regional fire departments were in the same boat, responding to dozens of their own requests for help.

Overall, the situation was a smooth albeit busy one for Tipping and his department.

Traffic closures saw frustrated motorists rerouted several times, however, Tipping said a vast majority understood the situation with only a select few electing to voice their displeasure to on-scene members.

North Cedar will gather at some point to go over Wednesday’s events and figure out what to take away for the next time.

“We’ll hold an extensive debrief with the department members and talk about the positives that came out of it, what we did right and look at the areas we can improve upon.”

Tipping identified communication with the public as a major point which can be very challenging in a constantly changing situation such as a storm.

City of Nanaimo crews work to clear a scene on Howard Ave. on Wednesday, near Sixth St. after a tree came down across the road. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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