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Power restored to thousands of households in West Kootenay region

Heavy snow resulted in tree(s) falling onto power lines this morning
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Heavy snow has resulted in power outages in the West Kootenay region. Photo: Connor Trembley

Power has been restored to thousands of homes in the West Kootenay region, according to an online power outage map by FortisBC.

The outage lasted between one and two hours and impacted approximately 2700 homes in the Thrums and South Slocan area, 2,200 homes around Castlegar, 801 homes in the Kinnaird area and 1210 customers in the Blueberry Creek area.

“The big issue crews were dealing with is the quantity of thick snow that accumulated on our lines,” said FortisBC communications manager Sean Beardow.

“When the snow started shedding off of the lines, it caused them to bounce and resulted in breakers tripping.”

At least one tree also fell onto a power line in the region due to heavy snow.

Crews worked hard at the Brilliant Substation to switch electricity to a different power line to ensure everyone had their power restored.

Around 2,400 households also lost their power in Castlegar just two months ago in September.

More to come.

READ MORE: UPDATE: Castlegar seniors centre evacuated by reported smoke, power outage