Thousands still without power after B.C. windstorm [Video]

Thousands of British Columbians woke up in dark homes Tuesday after a powerful storm knocked out power across the province’s South Coast the previous day.

According to BC Hydro, about 16,000 customers were still without power as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, down from around 290,000 at the peak of the outages.

Approximately 11,000 customers had no power in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast regions, and about 5,000 on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

“Crews will continue to work throughout the day and BC Hydro expects to have the majority of the remaining customers restored today – with the possible exception of small pockets of customers in areas with significant damage,” the utility wrote in a news release.

It said crews have had to replace dozens of power lines, poles and other electrical equipment damaged in the storm. The utility noted that drought has weakened trees and made them …