2 dead in B.C. in aftermath of windstorm
Pastor Dale Morgan
Dec 18, 2006
*2 dead in B.C. in aftermath of windstorm*
(CBC) CANADA - - A British Columbia couple died in their home over the
weekend of what's suspected to be carbon monoxide poisoning after using
a gas-powered generator for electricity.
Police were called to a suburban Burnaby house on Saturday and found the
bodies of a 66-year-old man and 65-year-old woman. A generator had been
running inside the house with all the windows and doors closed.
They were among those without electricity after Friday's windstorm
brought down power lines across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
B.C. Hydro estimates about 10,000 customers are still without power from
that storm, mostly on Vancouver's North Shore and in the Victoria area.
At the height of the storm, 250,000 were without electricity.
Another 6,500 customers are without power Monday morning on northern
Vancouver Island because of a transmission problem. The affected
communities include Port Hardy, Port Alice and Port McNeill.
All schools in the region have been closed for the day.
Hydro urges patience
More than 800 B.C. Hydro employees have been working for 12 to 16 hours
a day throughout the week to repair damage.
Spokeswoman Elisha Moreno asked people to be patient while crews work.
"We are getting some reports of customers getting aggressive with our
crews, because they want their power restored," Moreno said.
"Please be patient with us, we need our space to work and to work
safely. We understand that you're frustrated right now. But we are
trying the best we can to get the power restored quickly."
On Saturday, workers had to contend with about 10 centimetres of snow
that fell over higher elevations in the Vancouver area.
The utility said larger outages had priority, while individual ones
would have to wait until early in the week before power is restored.
Many of those affected are without heat and hot water.
The storm Friday was the third intense blast to hit the area in a week.
It brought rain and winds gusting to 158 km/h.
Stanley Park closed because of downed trees
One of the hardest hit areas was Vancouver's landmark Stanley Park,
which has been closed to the public until at least the middle of the week.
Park officials said they were worried that damaged trees could topple
across paths.
Homeowners, insurance companies and others have been adding up the costs
related to the storms. Damage was expected to be in the millions, if not
tens of millions of dollars.