Electricity restored to remote Vancouver Island communities, BC Hydro says

Power has been restored to remote communities on Vancouver Island's northwest coast, BC Hydro said Sunday, nearly a week after it first went out due to heavy snow and wind.

"Crews have completed repairs on a power line serving Tahsis and Zeballos and power is now restored to the area," BC Hydro said in a tweet Sunday evening. 

"Thank you to the Ehattesaht and Nuchatlaht First Nations and the communities of Zeballos and Tahsis for their patience and understanding while work was complete."

The communities lost power on Tuesday, after heavy snow caused extensive damage to a transmission line.

The outage lasted several days because of the extent of the damage, the remoteness of the location and the continuing bad weather, according to BC Hydro president and CEO Chris O'Riley, who shared a statement on the company's Twitter account on Saturday. 

“Because of its remote location, helicopter support is needed to complete repairs and our crews have been at the mercy of weather windows to be able to fly safely, all while dealing with snow shoulder deep in some areas,” O'Riley said in the video message.