Winter storm creates treacherous driving conditions in southern B.C.

VANCOUVER – Freezing rain and heavy, wet snow from the latest winter storm to batter Vancouver Island and southern British Columbia left thousands without power Thursday and forced the closures of numerous highways as crews worked to clear the avalanche threat.

Power was cut to areas in Victoria, Courtenay and Duncan on Vancouver Island, as well as Chilliwack, Maple Ridge, Mission and Port Moody east of Vancouver.

By late afternoon Thursday, more than 16,000 customers were still without power in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast while another 13,000 didn’t have electricity on Vancouver Island.

The storm that brought branches down and snapped power lines also caused icy and snow-coated roads through the regions, creating extremely hazardous driving conditions.

A series of weather-related crashes shut down the Coquihalla Highway in both directions for several hours, and several highways in southern B.C. and the Interior were closed temporarily or for hours while crews scrambled to reduce the risk of avalanche.

More than a dozen weather warnings for winter storm or heavy snowfall were issued for much of southern B.C. Thursday afternoon.

Environment Canada predicted up to 20 centimetres would fall in areas from the Fraser Valley east toward Elk Valley by Friday morning.

Avalanche Canada also issued a special warning to recreational backcountry users that the high winds and varying temperatures have increased the risk for avalanches in areas near Trail, Cranbrook and Fernie from Friday through to Monday.