Thousands of people across BC are without power due to the hundreds of wildfires.

BC Hydro says its initial assessment shows damage to about 170 power poles, 95 cross-arms, 90 spans of wire and 30 transformers. They expect these numbers to rise. Emergency Management BC and fire officials are working with BC Hydro to restore power to affected areas.

Currently, there are about 7,000 customers without power in Williams Lake and the 100 Mile House area. Due to heavy smoke and fire activity, crews are not able to restore power at this point. However, power has been restored to some parts of Cache Creek and Ashcroft and work is ongoing.

Around 100 crews are working across the province and BC Hydro says it is “doing everything it can to be fully prepared to respond once clearance is granted, including assembly of materials, crews, designers and other experts that will be needed.” Crews are being brought in from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

Customers are being asked to be patient. You can check for outage updates and expected restoration times here.