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Heavy snow New Year's Eve cuts power, but does not stop B.C. parties

Heavy snow downed power lines and cut B.C. Hydro service, but didn't stop people ringing in the new year, even if they had to shovel in the wee hours of the morning.

1st social media posts of 2017 show a snowy wonderland across the province

Yvette Brend · CBC News ·
A couple at Canada Place Dec. 31 wore layers and braved the cold to bring in the new year. (CBC)

Heavy snow downed power lines and impacted B.C. Hydro service, but it didn't stop people ringing in the new year, even if they had to shovel in the wee hours of the morning.

About 5,000 customers woke up Jan. 1 to no power, most in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast regions and the Fraser Valley. At the height of problems New Year's Eve, 12,000 customers were in the dark.

A fresh dump of snow on B.C.'s South Coast Saturday created problems on the roads ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations, making trips between communities arduous. Many people on social media described it as "white knuckle" driving.

Burnaby couple Graiz Alemania and Nellie de Guzman frolicked in the deep snow at midnight to celebrate 2017's arrival. (Graiz Alemania/Facebook)

The turnout downtown Vancouver was a bit thin, but revellers who made it, were grinning despite the cold.

"We braved the snow just fine. Rescued a few people along the way," a reveller told CBC's Kamil Karamali he came to watch "drunk people do a lot of stupid things."

New Year's revellers were out of luck at higher elevations in the lower mainland if they didn't shovel early, and often as heavy snow hit again Dec. 31. (Yvette Brend/CBC)

Other people filled Twitter and Facebook with "first posts" frolicking in the snow with wide grins, despite the snowy setbacks.

Snowfall warnings came into effect for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in late afternoon on Dec. 31.

About 5,000 customers had no power the first day of 2017 after a heavy snowfall choked roads, downed powerlines and caused outages. (BC Hydro)

By morning, all snow alerts were lifted, and most downtown Vancouver roads were clear.

Environment Canada is calling for sunshine this week, as 2017 begins.

Overnight travel woes

Bus service was disrupted New Year's Eve throughout the Lower Mainland. TransLink said service in south Vancouver was stalled at times overnight, as buses got stuck, slipping sideways or unable to move because they lack snow tires.

The worst issues were in higher elevation areas — such as Simon Fraser University in Burnaby B.C. — where service had to be cancelled.

Snow didn't stop this cozy celebration in Sunnybrae near Tappen B.C., east of Kamloops. (Jeremy Luc Hachey/Facebook)

In Coquitlam, Westwood Plateau was impassable and TransLink set up diversions for the community shuttles that serve that area.

But TransLink said there were no delays on any of the SkyTrains, the SeaBus or with Richmond buses.

SkyTrains ran an hour past regular stop times and transit was free from 5 p.m. PT onwards.

Slippery roads also led to crashes, reducing traffic on the Lions Gate Bridge and contributing to major congestion on the Alex Fraser Bridge. The right lanes in both directions were closed for the night. 

While authorities urged people to stay home instead of hit the roads — New Year's Eve celebrations carried on all the same.

In Delta, 84th Avenue at Nordel Way was closed due to snow. (Const. Sarah Swallow/Twitter)

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