Heavy snow in northern British Columbia downed power lines Saturday, leaving about 15,000 people without electricity around Smithers, Burns Lake and Fort St. James.
Wet snow is still falling, hampering efforts by BC Hydro to restore power, according to David Conway, a spokesman for the utility.
An estimated 15,000 people are without electricity around Smithers, Burns Lake and Fort St. James B.C.
(CBC)
"This looks like an extensive outage," Conway told CBC Newsworld, "We have lost two transmission lines and have damage to other low voltage lines.
"We can't give an restoration time and would urge customers to be careful around downed power lines and to turn off electrical appliances in their homes for when power is restored."
Conway said the wet, heavy snow had knocked down trees and power cables. He said emergency crews were still investigating the extent and exact cause of the outage.
Between 30 and 60 centimetres of snow have fallen around the area affected by the power cuts, Environment Canada said. At Smithers airport, there were reports of 49 cm of snow on the ground.
A severe weather watch has been declared for areas around and north of Prince George. The storm is expected to continue until Sunday night.
The RCMP has asked people to stay off highways and roads until the weather improves and the snow is cleared.
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- Marivel Taruc interviews David Conway of BC Hydro (Runs: 3:34)
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