A storm whipped up high winds and rain Tuesday, knocking trees across power lines, leaving thousands without power on the Island, cancelling ferries and closing roads because of tree fall and flooding.
The Island-wide peak for the power outage was around 18,000 B.C. Hydro customers from Victoria to Port Alberni, Campbell River and the Gulf Islands.
Colwood shut down the Lagoon Bridge because of the high tide combined with storm surges — and risk of logs being thrown onto the bridge deck.
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority closed the Ogden Point breakwater, citing safety concerns, and Sooke’s Whiffin Spit Park was also closed, as high winds and tides washed debris ashore.
The Capital Regional District closed Jordan River Regional Park due to high water levels that were flooding some of the campground. The closure is expected to continue until Wednesday.
Tory Howe, who operates Goin’ Coastal Fishing Charters in Sooke Harbour and has a family cabin near Otter Point, said with high tide in the morning, big gusts of wind were tossing logs up onto Gordon’s Beach, west of Sooke on West Coast Road.
He said the breakwater at the cabin “was all blown to pieces,” and neighbouring beachfronts and porches in the area were hit hard, as well.
Highway 14 was closed in both directions due to a downed tree and downed power lines west of the town centre, between West Coast Road and Kemp Lake Road, but reopened in the afternoon.
There were also downed power lines on West Coast Road.
Beach Drive from Transit Road to Monterey Avenue was closed until about 2:30 p.m. due to the effects of heavy rainfall, high tide and debris on the road, while Dallas Road was closed from South Turner Street to Oswego Street due to partial flooding as huge waves pounded the shoreline.
The closure was expected to remain into the evening.
In the Sooke School District, power outages closed Sooke, John Muir and Port Renfrew elementaries, although the power at Sooke Elementary was later restored.
At John Muir, parents were asked to pick up children at the school by noon after B.C. Hydro determined power wasn’t likely to be restored until 5 p.m.
Port Renfrew Elementary remained closed all day due to access problems caused by poor road conditions.
Wind warnings were in place for Greater Victoria and the southern Gulf Islands until Tuesday afternoon, with westerlies of 70 km/h and gusts up to 90 km/h expected. A special weather statement from Environment Canada warned of elevated ocean levels and significant waves.
The statement applied to shorelines along Juan de Fuca Strait, including Sooke and Victoria, and the southern Gulf Islands, and said coastal flooding was possible in exposed areas.
BC Ferries cancelled its 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. departures Tuesday from Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen because of expected strong winds and high waves.
The 7:45 a.m. sailing departing Duke Point and the 10:15 a.m. sailing departing Tsawwassen were also cancelled, but improved weather allowed service to resume at 11 a.m. from both Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen
For up-to-date sailing and departure information, visit bcferries.com or follow @BCFerries on X.
On western Vancouver Island, winds of 80 km/h gusting to 100 km/h were expected to continue throughout Tuesday. The winds were forecast to ease by early evening.
