After a dark Saturday night, Langley braces for three days of heavy rain
Saturday night's windstorm left thousands in Langley and Aldergrove without power for up to eight hours, and Environment Canada says a run of heavy rain hits the area Tuesday to Thursday, Nov 10 to 12.
The Langley Rivermen were up 2-1 on the Cranbrook Bucks on Saturday night, seven minutes into the second period, when the lights went out at George Preston arena. The game was suspended, and the team says it will be rescheduled, with details to come for ticket holders.
The rink had plenty of company. Wind gusting to about 66 km/h knocked trees onto lines across the Lower Mainland, and thousands of homes in Langley and Aldergrove sat in the dark overnight, some for as long as eight hours, the Langley Advance Times reported. Langley RCMP spent part of the evening at collisions caused by trees across roads.
Province-wide, BC Hydro counts nearly 415,000 customers who lost power at some point between Friday and Sunday, with about 135,000 out at once at 1 a.m. Sunday. By Monday morning 99% were back on, and what’s left is mostly around Prince George.
Next up: rain, and lots of it
Environment Canada put out a special weather statement early Monday for southeast Metro Vancouver, which it defines as Surrey and Langley. A series of storms is expected from Tuesday, Nov 10, through Thursday, Nov 12, bringing a long stretch of heavy rain and gusty southerly winds. The forecast has 10 to 20 mm on Tuesday alone, and rain in it every day through Sunday.
A special weather statement isn’t a warning yet. Environment Canada says it’s still unsure how much will fall and where, and that rainfall warnings will follow once it’s clearer. Check the Langley forecast page before you head out Tuesday. (Not sure what a yellow or orange alert means? We explained the new colour system on the weekend.)
Before Tuesday
Clear the drain in front of your house. The worry with this kind of rain is local flooding where drainage can’t keep up, and a catch basin buried under maple leaves is where it starts. Both municipalities ask residents to rake or shovel the grate clear. Leaves go in the Green Cart, not into the street or the ditch.
Know where the sandbags are.
- Township of Langley: sand and sandbags are out 24 hours a day, all year, at the Operations Centre, 4700 224 Street. Bring your own shovel.
- Langley City: sandbags for City residents at the Public Works Yard, 5713 198 Street.
Know who to call. A flooded road, a blocked culvert or a tree on a Township road: 604-532-7300 on weekdays, 8:30 to 4:30, and 604-543-6722 after hours and on weekends. In Langley City it’s 604-514-2910 during business hours, and the same 604-543-6722 after hours. A line down is 911 and BC Hydro (1-800-224-9376). Stay at least 10 metres back, about a bus length, and treat it as live even if it isn’t sparking.
If the power goes again, our step-by-step power outage guide covers the outage map, what the crew statuses mean and how long the fridge lasts.
Why the trees keep coming down
BC Hydro’s new storm-season report says trees and branches are its biggest cause of storm outages, and this year has an extra wrinkle. Summer drought on the South Coast left trees stressed, and stressed trees are more likely to fail when the first big fall storms arrive.
For anyone who needs a warm, dry place overnight, Gateway of Hope on the Langley Bypass runs Langley’s Extreme Weather Response spaces. Call 604-514-7375 for that night’s opening times.