Strong winds topple trees, knock out power to thousands in B.C.'s Lower Mainland

B.C. Hydro says 30,000 customers without electricity at peak of storm

British Columbia's Lower Mainland got an early taste of fall weather on Friday, with strong winds pummeling the region.

Environment Canada's Friday forecast for the region called for northwest winds gusting to 50 km/h, with gusts up to 70 km/h near the Strait of Georgia.

B.C. Hydro says that at the peak of the storm, about 30,000 customers lost electricity.

Spokesperson Moira Scott said Vancouver, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam and Surrey were the hardest hit.

City of Vancouver crews work to clear a downed tree at Quebec Street and East Sixth Avenue on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (Nav Rahi/CBC)

"The outages were primarily caused by trees and branches coming into contact with our power lines and electrical equipment," Scott said.

"At this time of year right now, many of the trees have a significant amount of foliage, so that makes them a lot more susceptible to wind damage."

As of 7 p.m. PT, about 17,000 people were still without power, though Scott said the company hoped to have it restored to most customers by 8 p.m.

A number of downed trees were spotted across the city, including one crushing a vehicle in Kitsilano, and a large tree downed in Douglas Park.

CBC News has reached out to the City of Vancouver for a fuller accounting of damage, but has yet to hear back.

Despite the strong winds, virtually all of B.C. Ferries' sailings proceeded as scheduled, with the exception of several afternoon sailings between Texada Island and Powell River.

Strong winds toppled this tree in Vancouver's Douglas Park on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. (Ian Hanomansing/CBC)

Scott said the storm was a good reminder to prepare a 72-hour emergency kit with water, food, batteries and a portable charger.

"You obviously never know how much damage a storm is going to cause or how long you could be without power," she said. "So we always encourage customers to be prepared."

Environment and Climate Change Canada said the weather was expected to continue into Friday evening, with a west wind of 30 km/h gusting to 50 km/h in the region, with gusts of up to 70 km/h near the Strait of Georgia.

Winds were forecast to drop to about 20 km/h around midnight.