Cleanup is underway and power has been restored around New Westminster, as city crews work to repair the damage from the windstorm that whipped through south coastal B.C. last night.
New Westminster residents are asked to continue to stay clear of heavily treed public areas and parks this weekend, as the city assesses the damage and clean debris.
Wind gusts as high as 90 km/h were reported as the storm, in the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 5, caused widespread power outages on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
In New Westminster, the city's electrical utility responded to multiple power outages around the city, including the areas around Agnes Street, Fifth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, Ninth Street, Queens Avenue, Carnarvon Street, 10th Avenue and London Street, Ewen Avenue and Derwent Way in Queensborough and the 800 block of Fifth Street. All the outages were reported cleared as of 10 a.m. Saturday.
A handful of buildings in the city remained without power because of internal issues, the city said, including:
- 737 Carnarvon St.
- 1245 Quayside Dr.
- 211 & 215 12th St.
- 210 & 214 11th St.
- 850 Royal Ave.
Last night saw some dramatic tree falls, including a large tree on Quayside Drive that came down and blocked the McInnes overpass to the Quay. In uptown New Westminster, a large street tree outside the HSBC on Sixth Street also came down, partially on the building and partially on the road. Major trees in Tipperary Park and around multiple neighbourhoods in the city — including Quayside, Queen's Park, Glenbrooke North, the West End and Connaught Heights — were damaged and, in some cases, felled by the high winds.
"Please use extreme caution around large trees and forested areas as broken branches may still be caught up in the tree canopy," the city noted in a website update Saturday morning. "Out of an abundance of caution, the public is asked to avoid entering heavily treed public areas and parks over the next 24 to 48 hours while crews conduct assessment and clean-up work."
City crews are busy removing downed branches and debris in local parks.
On Saturday afternoon, parks workers cleared debris from the playground at Moody Park. In the tree-filled area near the dog park, branches were strewn everywhere, with at least one tree losing large branches in the storm.
Over at Tipperary Park, a massive tree was behind yellow caution tape, after a large section of the tree snapped in the storm and fell.
On Saturday afternoon, crews were working to remove the tree that had fallen the night before on the McInnes overpass, rendering that access point to the Quayside neighbourhood off-limits.
Check for New Westminster power outage and other post-storm updates online.
