Storm power outages and Zeballos evacuation order partly lifted on Vancouver Island

Some of the 22 properties in Zeballos, a village of about 120 people on northwest Vancouver Island, were downgraded to an evacuation alert Sunday, and residents there were cleared to return home. The village amended its evacuation order over landslide risk from Friday's storm, and the order remains in effect for the rest.

The village sits on an inlet to the Pacific, about 42 kilometres from the main highway along a forest service road. Gerry Sullivan, a resident, said the wind woke him early Sunday. "It was just howling, and we had thunder, we had lightning," he told reporters. His wife Vicki, who is 72, said she had never experienced wind like it and heard trees falling outside their home Saturday. The couple have been without power since Saturday afternoon and are running two generators and a wood stove.

About 135,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm early Sunday, and about 63,000 were still out as of 7 a.m. BC Hydro spokesperson Whiteney Deane said crews were making progress, and warned that more damage and outages were expected as windy conditions continued Sunday.

Environment Canada had rainfall warnings in effect for northern and western Vancouver Island, with amounts of up to 120 millimetres expected in some areas, and wind warnings for parts of the Lower Mainland, the Sunshine Coast, north central B.C. and Vancouver Island. Maximum gusts were forecast at 90 km/h on the mainland and 100 km/h on Vancouver Island.

The Strathcona Regional District said Maquinna Avenue has reopened to essential travel only, and that stopping on it is prohibited "as there continues to be a risk to public safety." Sullivan said he was unsure whether the forest service road was passable after the latest storm.

A third storm is expected to start later Monday, and may bring prolonged rainfall across the B.C. coast through next week, according to the B.C. River Forecast Centre.