Sky Hi Scaffolding  in Quesnel – photo 250News

Prince George, B.C. – Damage  is still being tallied  from  the weekend windstorm that ripped through  the  central and northern regions of B.C.In Quesnel,  the windstorm  peeled back the roof of the Ski Hi scaffolding company on Two Mile Flats.  There were numerous  incidents of  trees down across wires, and  as the photo at right illustrates, across the roofs of homes .

In Prince George,  much the same story as  trees  took out  power lines, blocked  driveways and roadways.  In the case of Otway Road  near the Nordic Ski Centre,  the  road was blocked for several hours as  crews  removed  debris, and  repaired power lines.

In addition to the  physical damage,  there is the financial  pinch as well.  Numerous stores in the Westgate  shopping complex, including Walmart,  had to  usher customers out the door when power failures  meant there was no  security, no working cash registers.  Customers  wandered out, leaving their  full shopping carts behind.

Shops along  certain streets in the downtown core of Prince George were also plunged into darkness.

BC Hydro  continues to work on restoring service to its customers.  In some areas,  service may not be  restored until  later today. BC Hydro has asked its customers  to  be patient, as the  magnitude of the windstorm   was widespread from Williams Lake north to Ft. St. John,  and  west to  Prince Rupert.