3 highways connecting Lower Mainland and southern Interior reopen after closures
Several highways connecting B.C.'s Lower Mainland to the southern Interior were closed Thursday morning following overnight storms.
The Coquihalla Highway was closed about 12 kilometres north of Hope due to a "vehicle incident," according to DriveBC.
Just before 2 p.m. PT on Thursday, DriveBC said the stretch had reopened between Hope and Merritt.
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Highway 3 between Second Avalanche Gate and Allison Pass Summit, about 47 kilometres east of Hope, was also closed Thursday morning, but reopened just before 11 a.m. PT, according to DriveBC.
A 29-kilometre stretch of Highway 5A was also closed as a result of a vehicle incident, but DriveBC said it had reopened around 1:20 p.m. PT.
A major incident advisory on Highway 1 through Hope "due to high winds knocking down trees and power lines," according to DriveBC also caused a closure, though it was later cleared.
It stretched about 100 kilometres between Abbotsford and Spuzzum.
DriveBC said drivers should use "extreme caution" if they have to travel through that area.
Environment Canada said in its weather summary that Hope experienced strong wind gusts of up to 139 km/h Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.
B.C. Hydro said roughly 17,000 customers had lost power since Wednesday night across the Lower Mainland, while lights remained out for thousands on the Sunshine Coast, the Fraser Valley, Okanagan and Kootenay regions as of Thursday afternoon.
Ferry cancellations
Dave Duncan, general manager for Yellowhead Road and Bridge maintenance, told CBC's Daybreak South it was a "long night."
He said the wind was so strong that several trees were downed, and the wind pushed several semi-trailers over.
"It's quite a scene," he said.
He said anyone who has to travel on Thursday should expect snow and slush on the roads, and advises people to give themselves extra time for the journey.
B.C. Ferries cancelled several sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay and reduced service to two vessels on Wednesday due to high winds in the Strait of Georgia, spokesperson Akriti Tyagi said in an email.
Tyagi said the ferry service added an extra round trip on Wednesday evening to accommodate customers.
"As conditions can change quickly during severe weather, we encourage customers to check their sailing status before leaving home," she said.
This article was originally published for CBC News. Contains files from Daybreak South and The Canadian Press.