Police, firefighters and B.C. Hydro crews were kept hopping overnight with toppled trees, broken branches and downed power lines.
Environment Canada reported powerful, gusting winds hit Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and Interior on Tuesday. The high winds started to subside by about 4 a.m. Wednesday.
B.C. Hydro reported outages across Vancouver Island and the interior of the province as far as the Kootenays. In total,184,000 customers were temporarily without electricity.
By late morning Wednesday, however, power had been restored to all who lost it because of wind.
Saanich police spokesman Jereme Leslie said on-duty officers were kept hopping overnight. Victoria Police did not answer media questions.
Dispatchers with the Saanich and Victoria fire departments also reported busy overnight shifts.
Cindy Yu, Environment Canada meteorologist, said the winds came in from the Strait of Juan de Fuca about 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
By about 9 p.m., winds were reaching speeds as high as 115 kilometres per hour at Trial Island off Oak Bay, 94 km/h at Gonzales Point and 69 km/h at Victoria Harbour.
Yu said the wind is expected to continue to die down and milder weather should return by Thursday.
By Friday, skies should be sunny with temperatures in the low 20s C. Fair weather is expected to continue into the weekend.
