Big Trees + Big Wind = Power Outages and Crushed Cars

After a fierce winter storm I toured Sooke, BC to assess the damage. It was extensive.

The west coast has had its share of gnarly weather this winter, with vast and prolonged power outages. And probably more than a few crushed vehicles.

It reminds me of when I was living on Billing Spit in Sooke, BC. It was there, on the top floor of an older 3 floor waterfront apartment building, that I experienced one of the scariest weather events of my life.

A December wind storm hit just before Christmas. With gusts over 100km, the storm initially woke me up as my bed, and the whole building, was shaking. 

The air pressure had blown all the water out of the sink drain traps in our apartment, and the air rushing through the pipes was making a wailing sound like I have never heard before, or since.

My wife and I retrieved our Bug Out Bags, and set them by the front door. We were ready to evacuate and seek shelter somewhere safer. Preferably, somewhere where there weren't waves crashing over the sea wall and spraying on to our front balcony.

We looked out our back window to see our building caretaker fighting off a large piece of vinyl siding wrapped around him, threatening to launch him into the dark night sky.

In the end, we rode out the storm in our shaking and vibrating unit. Escape was impossible, unless we left on foot, since there were large trees down everywhere, including in our parking lot. 

The next morning, when the wind subsided, I went out to see that the roof of the twin building next door ripped completely off, and landed in the parking lot behind the building. Our neighbours were homeless for weeks until repairs were completed.

We were all without power for almost a week.

Our roof stayed put, perhaps due to the fact that our building, unlike the one next door, had large trees protecting it. 

The big trees giveth, the big trees taketh away. 

But I love them all the same.

Strong Winds Topple Trees

80 year old Islander clearing his driveway after Monday's wind storm, photo:TimesColonist

Vancouver Island's big trees have few threats as potentially life-ending as a wicked winter wind, and Monday's maelstrom proved to be the end for many. Tall trees shallowly rooted are constantly in danger from a stiff breeze, but are especially vulnerable in strong winds such as in Monday's storm.

During southeast winds the inside coast of Vancouver Island, including Victoria, gets hit the hardest. The highest winds were recorded across the Strait of Georgia along the Sunshine Coast at 187 km per hour. Powell River logged top gusts of up to 111 km per hour, and Victoria around 95 km.

Over 100,000 homes lost power in the storm, and most of those outages were caused by trees falling on power lines. As a matter of fact, most of the problems associated with the storm were tree-related with big conifers falling on power lines, roads, houses and vehicles.

Truck crushed by wind-tossed big tree, photo: TimesColonist

Three men driving on Ardmore Drive near Victoria Monday morning were prevented from proceeding by a large tree across the road. After getting out of their truck to survey the area, a second tree fell and crushed their vehicle.

Tree: 1, Van: 0, photo: CTV

Monday's storm reminded many of the whopper winds that occurred on December 15th, 2006. That storm was one of the worst since the 1960s, and knocked down about 41 acres of trees in Vancouver's Stanley Park, as well as thousands of trees along Vancouver Island's West Coast Trail.

The difference between the two storms was that the 2006 storm was out of the west rather than a southeaster like Monday. Sooke was hard hit in 2006s west gales, but was little affected by the southeaster Monday. Because of that, the power stayed on, and I have not seen any trees down in the area.

However, any time the wind blows, I tend to be aware of the trees swaying around me.

Snow In The Coastal Forest

View from Willis Point, Carolyn Rowins

Winter is a dangerous time for coastal trees and forests. Snow, ice, and wind can combine forces with devastating effect. Powerful winter storms are nature's tree trimmers and fallers. They also create havoc for those of us living under the trees.

In Vancouver Island's recent snowfall many residents were without power for up to a day. The snow came with record cold temperatures for November, so a day without power would be uncomfortable for the unprepared.

Last year there was not a flake of snow at sea level in Sooke, but the year before that there was snow on the ground for several weeks in a row. Winter is unpredictable along the coast.

Trees heavy with snow at Cobble Hill, Christina D.

When coastal snowfalls happen they tend to be of the heavy, wet variety. Sometimes the weight of snow causes trees to lose their tops or a few branches. When conditions are right trees wobble under the load and fall down. Often they take power lines with them.

Having the power go out can be an inconvenience, but it almost seems worth it to see the forest altered and transformed. Snow covered individual trees stand out from the common background of forest. All is quiet and muffled. It is a rare treat.

Ultimately, damaged, injured or toppled trees end up creating more diversity in the forest environment as other living things take advantage of storm damaged trees for food and habitat. Winter can be a beautiful and powerful agent of change in the forest.

Urban Big Trees - Sooke's Billings Spit Cedars

In an ideal world all utilities would run underground. If they did, our trees would be one of the biggest beneficiaries. In cities and towns across the land trees are mutilated in the name of keeping the power flowing. And keeping the power flowing can be difficult in big tree country during a windstorm, so trees must be trimmed. Here is an example of an impressive Western red cedar that has received a "bole cut" in order to clear the way for the power lines.



One thing the trim did was reveal some of the inner structure of this amazing tree. Possibly hundreds of years old, this tree shows its age with several major vertical branches forming a candelabra of leaders. The trunk is buttressed and thick with time, and it hosts several branches that would be large trees on their own.


There are several large and ancient cedars along Glenidle Rd. on Billings Spit in Sooke, including this one. Billings Spit is good cedar habitat. It is wet and often misty on the point dividing Sooke's harbour and basin. The other cedars are away from the power lines so escaped the embarrassing trim, but they are all impressive. It is amazing that these trees have survived the development of this area. I am glad they have because they are a major feature of the neighbourhood.

Windstorms And Windsnap

This hefty hemlock came down in a recent storm and blocks a main trail I use when cycling. The trunk is snapped off a couple of meters up, and the heartwood looks punky and soft.









I don't think a bike helmet would be much protection if one happened to cycle down this trail at the wrong time.















For more on downed trees and large diameter woody debris read here.



The forecast is for SE winds up to 90km per hour tonight so I suspect there will be more downed trees. Hopefully not many of them will cross trails or take power lines with them.

Powerful Winds Cause Damage On Vancouver Island

The biggest storm of 2010 blew through the south island April 2nd leaving havoc in its wake. Damage was extensive in Mill Bay with large waves stranding boats, docks, and logs high up on the beach. Lighter damage was widespread and 90 000 people were without power for up to 24 hours or more. See video here.



Winds in the upper reaches of the Beaufort Scale really howl out here where the sea squalls slam right into the rocks and trees. Weather watchers were saying that the April 2nd storm caused the worst damage the south island has seen since the storm of December 2006.



Wind is natures arborist and the recent 90km/hr winds gave the south coast trees and forests a trimming. Many trees were toppled, including some in urban areas that fell on buildings, power lines and roadways.



Many other trees were trimmed by the gusts, and as usual after every big storm, roads running beside forested areas were completely covered with smaller debris.



The December 2006 storm was much more powerful with winds topping 150km/hr in places. Thousands of trees were blown down including many across roads, highways and trails. Extensive recovery work had to be done in order to open local beaches and the Juan de Fuca and West Coast trails.





Hundreds of thousands of homes along the Pacific coast were without power. Those in remote places were off-grid for up to a week or more. A building on the waterfront in Sooke took the full brunt of the west winds coming off the harbour and part of the roof was lifted off and deposited in the parking lot. Vinyl siding was strewn around the neighbourhood and hung from trees.


Across the south island and on the mainland trees crashed into homes and crushed cars. As much as I love big trees, there are hazards associated with big trees in urban areas. Trees in the coastal forest are not deeply rooted - they tend to have root pancakes rather than root balls since most have no tap root. A once in 50 year storm therefore can have a huge impact on trees and forests.





Trees that are toppled, roots and all are called blow down. Blow down areas can be like mini clear cuts with all the trees left behind in a jumbled mass. Trees that break off up the trunk are called wind snap. In urban areas such trees are removed. In Sooke after the 2006 storm, the public came out en masse and fired up the big chain saws to tackle the decades old trees blocking roads and driveways.






Out in the forest, though, the trimming and falling of trees by the wind is a re-occurring, natural event that passes with no fanfare. This ecosystem is ever-changing, and downed trees and standing wind snapped trunks simply add to the richness and diversity in a constantly cycling self-sustaining system.