South Cariboo residents were left without power, telephone and a huge clean up job, after a windstorm hit British Columbia on May 23, knocking out power, pulling down trees and widespread destruction throughout the province.
In the South Cariboo, the Deka Lake and the Interlakes areas were some of the areas hardest hit by the storm.
According to Environment Canada, stronger gusts during the storm moved as fast as 70 to 90 km/hr. Clearwater saw gusts up to 91 km/hr while Prince George saw gusts of 94 km/hr. Clinton saw gusts that reached 50 km/hr.
While BC Hydro was reportedly working around the clock to bring electricity back to homes after trees knocked down power lines, some residents were left without power for several days following the storm.
Roger Henzel, who lives in the Lone Butte/Sheridan Lake area, says he was left without power for 75 hours following the storm.
Despite multiple calls to BC Hydro and the downed Hydro lines, he says power wasn’t restored until Friday May 26 at 7 p.m.
While he says he was initially understanding of the delay, due to the size of the storm, he became frustrated after the rest of his area regained power and BC Hydro was unable to say when his power would be restored.
“We don’t understand why [we] had to wait so long,” he says.
BC Hydro was unable to respond to questions about power restoration before press time due to a new round of power outages faced by the South Cariboo on May 30.
About 4,000 homes were again left without power. According to BC Hydro’s outage map, some residents were still without power on May 31.
Henzel was also left without a telephone connection following the storm. He says that when he called Telus on the Thursday following the storm he was told he would receive an appointment to rehook his line for June 28.
While Telus says they have local crews and materials to direct to reported downed lines that will work overtime until services are restored, they say they prioritize lines based on the number of customers affected, and the impact to things like emergency services and businesses.
While not asked directly about Henzel’s case, Telus does say there are a number of factors that can delay their response times such as safe access due to downed power lines or where BC Hydro is already working.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience when it comes to line repairs. Our crews work tirelessly to restore service as quickly as possible,” says Richard Gilhooley, Senior Media Relations Manager with Telus.
Though Deka Lake resident, Anthony Marconato had power restored to his house relatively quickly, he says the impact to his property has been incredible.
“It looks like a scene out of a newscast where a tornado hits. There’s just nothing left,” he says.
While his home survived, despite two trees falling on it, Marconato says there isn’t a tree left standing on his property.
Two snowmobiles were also picked up and tossed into the branches of the fallen trees.
“Complete and utter devastation,” he says.
Marconato says he had just finished landscaping the property, with plans to install a mini golf course.
“It’s just a huge setback, because now, with no trees on it, I don’t think I’m going to carry on with it. The whole idea was that you have a place that’s a bit shaded on a hot summer day where you can go and do something for the day with your family,” he says.
Now, he says, he just feels numb about it.
“I don’t know what I am going to do.”
Marconato was home while the windstorm was happening.
“In 15 minutes I’ve never seen so much devastation,” he says.
Despite the destruction on his land, Marconato says that people nearby had boats and trailers completely destroyed by fallen trees.
He says he plans on selling the wood from the downed trees as firewood and anyone willing to come take it off his property would be doing a big help.
He can be reached via his son’s cell at 778-241-0258.
Marconato’s property and the properties next door saw plenty of damage, while the properties across the lake stayed relatively untouched.
According to Alyssa Charbonneau, an Environment Canada meteorologist, despite the high winds across British Columbia, local topography can determine how susceptible people are to the winds.
“For this kind of feature, with really widespread winds, it really becomes the local effects that have the most impact on how strong and damaging winds are.”
Hills can provide shelter, depending on wind direction, but valleys can sometimes channel winds making the impact stronger.
While Charbonneau says no records were broken because of the windstorm, the event was notable for its scope. An intense cold front met a ridge of high pressure over the Interior, manifesting in widespread strong winds.
In the Interlakes, the Bridge Lake Ice Caves met with a setback in opening the recreation site for the beginning of July.
While the group working on them have been waiting for the ground to dry before doing more construction on the site, now they also need to go in with chainsaws to clear out the damage from fallen trees.
While Helga Zeiner, the Ice Caves spokesperson, says none of the structures were impacted, she does say there was a lot of wind damage on the trails. John Abrahamsen, a cabin owner, said he was worried about the impact the winds and trail construction would have on the local environment and wildlife.
Despite the storm, Helga remains optimistic.
“It’s not going to be the last problem. We have to deal with it as it comes,” she says.