Heavy snow New Year's Eve cuts power, but does not stop B.C. parties

Heavy snow downed power lines and impactedB.C. Hydro service, but it didn't stop people ringing in the new year, even if they had to shovel in the wee hours of the morning.

About 5,000 customers woke up Jan. 1 to no power, most in the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast regions and the Fraser Valley. At the height of problems New Year's Eve, 12,000 customers were in the dark.

A fresh dump of snow on B.C.'s South Coast Saturdaycreatedproblems on the roads ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations, making trips between communities arduous.Many people on social mediadescribedit as "white knuckle" driving.

The turnout downtown Vancouver was a bit thin, but revellers who made it, were grinning despite the cold.

"We braved the snow just fine. Rescued a few people along the way," a reveller told CBC's Kamil Karamali he came to watch "drunk people do a lot of stupid things."

Other people filled Twitter and Facebook with "first posts" frolicking in the snowwith wide grins, despite the snowy setbacks.

Snowfall warnings came into effectfor Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in late afternoon on Dec. 31.

By morning, all snow alerts were lifted, and most downtown Vancouver roads were clear.

Environment Canada is calling for sunshine this week, as 2017 begins.

Overnight travel woes

Bus service was disruptedNew Year's Eve throughout the Lower Mainland. TransLink said service in south Vancouver was stalled at times overnight, as buses got stuck, slipping sideways or unable to move because they lack snow tires.

The worst issues were in higher elevation areas such as Simon Fraser University in Burnaby B.C. where service had to becancelled.

In Coquitlam, WestwoodPlateau wasimpassable and TransLink set up diversions for the community shuttles that serve that area.

ButTransLinksaidthere were no delays on any of theSkyTrains, theSeaBusor with Richmond buses.

SkyTrains ran an hour past regular stop timesand transit was free from 5 p.m. PT onwards.

Slippery roads also led to crashes, reducing traffic on the Lions Gate Bridge and contributing tomajor congestion on the Alex FraserBridge. The right lanes in both directions were closed for the night.

While authorities urged people to stay home instead of hit the roads New Year's Eve celebrations carried on all the same.