BC Hydro Crews in Prince George were put to the test last night following a massive thunderstorm that ripped through the area.
Mother Nature flexed her muscles for just about an hour in the northern capital wreaking havoc on local power lines.
“We had at least four circuits knocked out from the Chief Lake Road substation to the Foothills substation and Beaverley with over 7,000 people without power due to this very strong storm,” says Bob Gammer, Northern Spokesperson.
The city remains under a severe thunderstorm watch at the moment, leading to the possibility of a similar storm to sweep through the area for a second straight day – if that happens, Gammer says hydro crews will be ready to go.
“Crews work 16-hour shifts so the crews that were called out to work last night and into the early hours of the morning are on that rest time now and by the time they are ready to go again, it will be late in the afternoon.”
He adds the vast majority of customers were back up and running just after 3 AM this morning.
The Peace Region experienced a weather event that was close to what came down on Wednesday.
“There was lighting that hit two of the large 500,000-volt lines coming from the Peace Region down to the Williston substation in Prince George but the protective equipment did its job and separated the system from that contact point in the Williston substation so Prince George was not affected by what happened in the Peace but last night for just under an hour, we had 30,000 customers out up there.”
As a result of the storm, sports fields and ball diamonds are closed for public use.
Hard rain here in #CityofPG at Kin 1 wreaking havoc on facility entrance #summer2018 #thunderstorm pic.twitter.com/QmwufsonTe
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) June 21, 2018