Power returning after massive B.C. storm

Hydro crews have restored power to abouttwo-thirds of the customers whose service was knocked out by windstorms in southwestern British Columbia this week.

More than a quarter of a million people and businesses lost power during the storms, butas of Saturday morning, thatnumber was downto fewer than 80,000 customers on the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands

Hydro spokesperson Elisha Moreno said crews were back at it at first light and hope to reconnect most affected customers by some timeSunday. But officials say in some areas, the power could be out for several days.

About 800 workers are repairing lines. They're being hampered by the number of trees that came down. Street lights were out at more than 100 Vancouver intersections on Friday.

Some workers are reportingthe worst storm-related damageto hit the region in 35 years. Winds in some places hit 150 km/h, wrecking docks, buildings and cars parked in the wrong place.

"Crews have been working flat-out for several weeks, now up to four weeks.They no sooner get through one issue than another storm comes along," said Jim Whyte, provincial emergency program manager of operations.

"We still have significant outages, mostly in the Greater Victoria Area and the Greater Vancouver Area," he told CBC News on Saturday.

The storm that hammered the region Thursday night and Fridaymorningwas the ninth in B.C. this year to cause widespread power outages.

Fallen trees have forced officials to temporarily close the Lions Gate Bridge connecting Vancouver with the North Shore.

Vancouver's Stanley Park is closed for the weekend for the same reason. That includes the park's seawall, which is used by joggers, pedestrians and cyclists.