Driver dead after tree hits car in Surrey as 2nd windstorm batters B.C.

One person has died after a tree fell in Surrey during powerful windstorms across British Columbia overnight. The Surrey Police Service said the tree fell across Highway 10 between 182 and 184 Streets around 8 p.m. PT on Saturday, trapping two vehicles. One driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the second vehicle suffered minor injuries. The road was closed overnight, but has since reopened to a single lane in each direction.

It came as powerful gusts battered much of the province, leaving thousands of people without power. Environment Canada recorded gusts of up to 90 km/h over Vancouver Island, up to 80 km/h in Prince George and up to 70 km/h in the Lower Mainland. As of Sunday morning, more than 63,000 B.C. Hydro customers were without electricity, more than half of them in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast — down from about 135,000 across the province at the peak of the storm.

B.C. Hydro said the hardest hit areas include Surrey, Duncan, Port Hardy and Prince George. After multiple sailing cancellations across several routes on Saturday, B.C. Ferries said Sunday that weather conditions had improved and that it was returning to its scheduled service. Wind warnings remain in effect for Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast and all of Vancouver Island south of Sayward. Environment and Climate Change Canada has also issued wind warnings for the Central Interior, including the Prince George, Stuart-Nechacko and Lakes district areas.

The agency says gusts of up to 90 km/h are possible, but forecasts the wind to subside by midday.