Hydro crews work around the clock to restore power to British Columbians

VANCOUVER – Tens of thousands of people remain without power two days after a powerful windstorm swept across southwestern British Columbia.

BC Hydro says 800 field personnel are working around the clock to repair extensive damage to its infrastructure after one of the most severe windstorm the region has seen in 20 years.

Power has been restored to more than 530,000 customers but about 66,000 across the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands still didn't have electricity on Saturday morning.

The utility says restoring power to the remaining customers continues to be challenging and many require individual repairs, including restringing hundreds of spans of power lines and replacing power poles and transformers.

Thursday's storm left a path of destruction, killing one woman when a tree fell on her tent in Duncan, and causing Nanaimo's water treatment plant to break down and part of White Rock's beloved pier to collapse.

Environment Canada issued a wind warning for much of the B.C. coast and Vancouver Island Saturday, forecasting winds up to 90 kilometres per hour.