With a storm bringing up to 20 centimetres of snow from Greater Victoria to Mill Bay — and temperatures set to dip to -10 C Tuesday night and -12 C Wednesday night — Our Place Society’s Dandelion Street Outreach van has been busy checking on people living in tents.
“This week, basically every day, they’re going to different places where people are camped, at different parks and things,” said Our Place director of services Jordan Cooper. “They’re checking in on them, letting them know what resources there are and what’s open if they do choose to go into an extreme-weather shelter.
“They know where people are and they have trusting relationships with them.”
Cooper said the Our Place centre on Pandora Avenue is a busy place right now, with people coming in for a coffee or a hot shower during the day.
An extreme weather alert was activated in the capital region last week, triggering the opening of additional shelter beds amid the cold snap.
Monday’s pre-Christmas blast of snow is expected to continue on Tuesday.
Emcon, which maintains Island roads, was warning of winter driving conditions on Monday.
Low temperatures Monday morning led to the freezing of the throttle and motor on the rescue boat aboard the ferry Quinitsa, resulting in some cancellations on the Crofton-Salt Spring Island (Vesuvius Bay) route.
Combined with staffing shortages, the mechanical problem resulted in only one Monday round trip for the ferry, coming at midday. A water taxi was brought in to provide service.
A handful of B.C. Transit bus routes were making weather-related detours Monday, with Route 52 avoiding Lagoon Hill and Routes 59 and 60 not servicing Triangle Mountain.
Spokesperson Tessa Humphries said Monday that B.C. Transit was preparing for snowfall Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon, and advising riders to plan extra time Tuesday with their journeys.
Snow can result in anything from detours to cancellations, Humphries said.
“We will have our Transit supervisors monitoring the road conditions throughout the region and be updating customers as soon as possible if there are any service impacts.”
The most up-to-date information is available at bctransit.com, the online NextRide system or the Transit app, she said.
Riders are asked to wait at a bus stop on level ground if their regular stop is on hill, which could be difficult for drivers to navigate, and to use a light or reflective gear to signal drivers to stop when weather affects visibility.
B.C. Hydro announced the findings of a report Monday saying that the last five holiday seasons have seen progressively stronger storms and an increase in power outages due to climate change.
Hydro data shows that from mid-December to mid-January, the average number of customers affected by storms is up over 500 per cent during that period, with close to 90 per cent of British Columbians having experienced at least one weather-related power outage.
B.C. Hydro says it’s taking steps such as increasing staffing during holidays and undertaking more vegetation management around power lines.
The cold snap comes as Our Place readies a pair of hot meals for those in need, beginning with a Tuesday dinner sponsored by businessman Gordie Dodd, followed by the annual Our Place Christmas lunch Wednesday.
“Many of the folks that will be coming to that meal may not have friends or family that they’re gathering with over Christmas, and it can be a lonely, kind of difficult time for them,” Our Place's Cooper said.
— With files from Louise Dickson and The Canadian Press
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