A fast and heavy snowfall on Sunday evening quickly left most of the island without power overnight and into the following morning.
And for many residents the power outages did not end there. While BC Hydro crews arrived on Bowen overnight to begin repairs, and continued to arrive over the next few days, the lights didn’t come back on for many until Monday afternoon and in some cases even until Tuesday or Wednesday. By late afternoon on Wednesday there were no active outages on the island.
The first wave of outages hit shortly before 7 pm on Sunday, with many neighbourhoods and streets losing their power in rapid succession after that. Only the Snug Cove area and small pockets outside of it managed to avoid the disruption completely.
And though repairs were underway, the days after the storm even featured several subsequent power outages of their own due largely to trees falling across wires after being damaged by the snow.
Many roads, both main and isolated, were also rendered impassable by the storm. But between the work of Bowen’s snow plow drivers and people clearing trees and debris, by Tuesday travel around the island was generally safe again.
