Strong winds, heavy rain knock out power to hundreds of thousands in B.C.

As many as 330,000 BC Hydro customers lost power at some point overnight Friday, as strong winds and heavy rains knocked down trees weakened by this summer's severe drought.

As many as 330,000 BC Hydro customers lost power at some point overnight Friday, as strong winds and heavy rains knocked down trees weakened by this summer's severe drought.

The utility says as of 8:30 a.m. Saturday, more than 129,000 customers were still without electricity on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast and the Lower Mainland.

The hardest hit areas included Surrey, Victoria, Nanaimo, Qualicum and Parksville.

Crews have been working throughout the night to repair damaged power lines, hydro poles and other equipment in order to restore electricity to all customers.

"Clean up work is expected to continue throughout the day," the Crown corporation said in a statement Saturday morning.

"Because of the extensive damage, repair work may take some time and could continue into tomorrow, especially for customers in more remote areas. However, crews are working as quickly as possible to get the largest number of customers restored as soon as possible."

Environment Canada had issued wind warnings Friday evening, forecasting gusts of up to 90 km/h. Those warnings were lifted overnight.