An unplanned power outage in the North Thompson Valley on March 29 saw about 12,000 customers unable to turn on the lights, some for as long as 24 hours.
Kevin Deckert, who has lived in Avola over 40 years, was one of those customers.
He said that while Avola has a unique advantage in that they has gravity fed water, requiring no power, the location of the small town carries disadvantages.
“There’s only two ways out of Avola: North and south on the highway,” said Deckert. “You should really think about what you would need to run your house safely, or be home safe, for three days. And in a real emergency, help may not be coming.”
The Government of Canada advises households to be prepared to take care of yourself and family for a minimum of 72 hours. This includes creating an emergency plan and a kit packed with food, water and battery-operated or crank flashlight.
At his home, Deckert has communication equipment to support the local search and rescue team, and used to work for CN Rail. When the power goes out, he said, they have bottles of water, non-perishable food, wood heat and a solar panel and battery bank to power basic electronics, the Wi-Fi and lights.
He noted the power doesn’t go out often in the area, “but when it’s our, it’s pretty dramatic.”
The most recent power outage was caused by a wind storm in the area, leaving many unable to turn on lights, heat their home or cook dinner. BC Hydro customers (or households) from as far as south of Rayleigh, just north of Kamloops, to McBride were out of power.
This is because they are all serviced by the North Thompson Valley transmission line, which spans 349 kilometres, according to Mary Anne Coules, community relations with BC Hydro, and powers 13,000 households.
In the Clearwater District, which includes distribution circuits for Avola, Barriere, Blue River, Clearwater and Vavenby, hydro customers have experienced an average of three-and-a-half outages per year, from 2017 to 2021.
The average duration of these outages is just over seven hours.
“We encourage our customers to prepare for outages by having an emergency kit that includes a flashlight, extra batteries, a first aid kit, water and non-perishable food,” said Coules, noting additional information can be found on the BC Hydro website.
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