Tens of thousands of BC Hydro customers lose power as storms hit South Coast
About 40,000 customers were without power as of 1:45 p.m. Friday, with wind and downed trees cutting lines in the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.
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Roughly 40,000 BC Hydro customers were without power on the South Coast as of 1:45 p.m. Friday, November 6, as the first of a series of storms moved through. Nearly 18,000 of them were in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast, and more than 20,000 on Vancouver Island.
BC Hydro says wind and trees falling across power lines are behind most of the outages. The utility is warning people to stay at least 10 metres away from any downed line and to treat every line as live, because electricity can spread through the ground and into nearby trees, fences and vehicles.
Environment Canada has a yellow rainfall warning for parts of Metro Vancouver, with up to 80 millimetres forecast in higher-elevation areas of the North Shore and near southern Howe Sound. The heaviest rain is expected through Friday, easing gradually overnight, and more wet and windy weather is forecast on the B.C. coast into next week.
BC Hydro has posted restoration estimates on its website, and crews will keep working through the storms.
The facts
How many BC Hydro customers lost power on the South Coast?
About 40,000 BC Hydro customers were without power on the South Coast as of 1:45 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2026, as the first of a series of storms moved through.
Where were the BC Hydro power outages concentrated?
Nearly 18,000 BC Hydro customers were without power in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast, and more than 20,000 were without power on Vancouver Island.
