Blackburn elementary school was closed on Friday morning after a power outage on the eastern edge of the city left thousands of BC Hydro customers without electricity.
The outages are blamed on the winter storm, which rolled into town overnight and has continued into Friday. The school is in the process of contacting parents to make them aware of the situation.
Up to 10 centimetres of snow has already fallen and a further five to 10 cm is expected today. Snow will ease to a mixture of showers and flurries later Friday as temperatures rise slightly.
Drive BC says road conditions are hazardous due to heavy snowfall on Highway 97 in both directions from Prince George. The agency also reported similar conditions on Highway 16 in both directions.
More than 8,000 BC Hydro customers in the region are without power with the largest concentrations located east of Northwood Pulp Mill Road and north of Alpine Road; north of Westcreek Road; south of Goose Country Road and west of Melody Road; and in the Cranbrook Hill area
Smaller pockets of power outages were also reported north and west of the city. Other outages were also reported throughout the Highway 97 corridor including in Quesnel and Williams Lake.
BC Hydro anticipates power will be restored to all affected areas by 4 p.m.
