Squamish RCMP received several complaints of fallen trees following a windstorm in the District of Squamish this past weekend. The first complaint was a tree on top of a vehicle parked on Mamquam Road. Police attended and were able to locate the owner of the SUV.
The second report of a down tree was called in by a passerby who noted tree had fallen onto the railway tracks by Bailey Street. Both trees were removed successfully and the cause was believed to be the high winds in Squamish over the weekend.
Between February 12 and 18, Squamish RCMP also received 23 calls for Active Alarms which upon attendance were deemed to be False Alarms. A number of these alarm calls were due to the multiple power outages from the high winds.
Squamish RCMP would like to stress to those private residences owners and business owners with alarm systems to ensure the Property Representatives and emergency contact information is current with their alarm companies. This will alleviate delayed responses to the alarms and allow false alarms to be identified quicker and therefore streamline the police response.
According to a Global BC report, ICBC claim centre call volume increased by 50 per cent on Saturday and 66 per cent on Sunday compared to the previous weekends in August. The eClaim service received 227 claims on Saturday and 284 on Sunday. It usually averages 70 to 80 claims per day on weekends.
Dave Colwell says
Yes trees will come down in wind storms. Yes we can warn Council of the possible dangers in certain areas. BUT will they take notice? I warned them a while ago about the possible danger of trees falling on Highlands Way South. There are several vulnerable trees there. They said they would consult with their Arborist and he would get back to me…Nobody did…We will wait to see the outcome in the next storm. I hope no-one gets hurt or worse. Never mind the power outages that could result.