Thousands of BC Hydro customers from Skookumchuck north to Golden remained without power Sunday after severe weather disrupted electricity service across the region.
BC Hydro said a storm had damaged parts of its transmission and distribution system, and crews are waiting on authorization from BC Wildfire Service to safely enter parts of the fire zone.
BC Hydro said power could be restored as early as tonight if crews don’t find additional damage and wildfire conditions, weather and safe access remain favourable. BC Hydro stressed this is not guaranteed and timelines could change.
The outages have prompted the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) to ask customers on its Columbia Valley water systems to conserve water until electricity is restored.
The district said reservoirs cannot be replenished while pumping systems are without power and asked residents to avoid all non-essential indoor and outdoor water use, including showering, dishwashing and laundry, until the systems are operating normally again.
Residents served by the Holland Creek sewer system are also being asked to reduce wastewater entering the system because lift station pumps cannot operate during the outage.
The RDEK asked residents connected to the Holland Creek sewer system to limit bathing, showering and toilet flushing, and to minimize the amount of water going down household drains until power is restored.
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