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Thousands without power in Shuswap region, debris affecting Trans-Canada Highway traffic

More than 7,000 BC Hydro customers are in the dark in the Salmon Arm, Tuesday afternoon.
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UPDATE:

More than 14,000 BC Hydro customers are in the dark in the Thompson and Shuswap area — with more than 7,000 customers in the dark in Salmon Arm alone.

BC Hydro crews are on scene assessing the situation.

Salmon Arm fire crews are busy keep tabs on numerous reports of downed powerlines including two in the Hillcrest area.

It’s unclear when power will be restored.

The Observer is getting unconfirmed reports of trees down on the Trans-Canada Highway both west of Salmon Arm and east in between Salmon Arm and Sicamous. Drivers are reporting highway traffic is being affected.

Further south, several outages are being reported in Cherryville, Lumby, Lavington and the Fintry area near Vernon.

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Strong winds are blowing through the Shuswap region knocking out power and scattering debris across roads.

According to BC Hydro more than 1400 customers are in the dark after power went out just after 11 a.m. from east of Shuswap Road to north-south-west of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Chase, Pritchard, Celista, Blind Bay and Notch Hill are some of the affected areas. There are reports of an outage in Salmon Arm as well.

RELATED: Get out the galoshes

Environment Canada is calling for strong westerly winds of 70 gusting 90 km/h across the region on Tuesday. In addition to the strong winds, there is also a potential for a squall line to develop with intense thunderstorms.

RELATED: More than 14,000 customers without power in the Lower Mainland

The intense winds are part of a storm moving across the province that has also knocked out power to many areas of the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.


@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca

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Salmon Arm fire fighters block off access to 3rd Ave. SE near 18th Street SE due to downed power lines during a windstorm at noon Tuesday. There are many instances of downed lines and power outages across the Shuswap. -Image credit: Tracy Hughes/Salmon Arm Observer


Jen Zielinski

About the Author: Jen Zielinski

Graduated from the broadcast journalism program at BCIT. Also holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science and sociology from Thompson Rivers University.
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