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Wind storm cuts power in Chilliwack

Power was out for thousands of residents in Chilliwack following an overnight windstorm that clocked gusts at up to 80 kilometres an hour.
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Flames spurt from transformers after a power pole on Chilliwack Central Road that was taken down my Thursday's wind storm.

Hydro crews and Chilliwack firefighters were kept busy Thursday after a powerful wind storm took down trees and power lines across the region.

At one point nearly 8,000 customers in Chilliwack were without power – part of 122,000 customers affected in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast.

The Sardis area suffered the largest single outage, with nearly 2,700 homes blacked out.

But there were pockets throughout Chilliwack – from Majuba hill to Annis Road – that were also affected.

Chilliwack Central Road was blocked for hours after a power pole snapped in the wind and hung precariously over the street, a transformer in flames.

Damage was severe across the region as wind gusts topped 90 km/h in some parts.

The storm turned deadly in Port Moody where officials said a woman was killed when she was struck by a tree early Thursday morning.

Although powerful, the storm was not as strong has the one that ripped through Chilliwack in November. That storm caused an estimated $200,000 in damage to city owned property alone.



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