Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency services received a week's worth of calls in about five hours on Saturday as a windstorm blasted the region.
Chief Nick Delmonico said close to 50 calls came after the storm hit, ranging from reports of downed power lines to calls from people stuck in elevators.
"We were busy," he said. "We staffed up an extra engine… We were so busy, dispatch was overwhelmed."
The calls had to be prioritized and some people were left waiting, Delmonico said, as his crews went from one call to the next with little time for breaks.
Because of the sunny weather the region has experienced over the last few months, the trees in the area were drier than usual. That meant there was not much flexibility in the branches, which made them easier to snap, Delmonico said.
"A lot more trees came down," he added. "I have been involved in higher wind events. This one was just really destructive.
Emergency crews will be reviewing their operations after Saturday's storm to see what can be learned for future weather events.
But it may also be a good time for residents to look at their own level of preparedness should another storm — or an even bigger emergency — strike the region, Delmonico said.
"There is a personal preparedness component to this," he said. "People need to have the ability to take it on themselves and to be prepared for these kinds of things. It is not unusual for the power to be out."
Port Moody Fire Chief Remo Faedo said things were busy in his city the department was able to manage most of the calls. He said there were six calls for downed trees, two for elevator rescues and seven electrical calls.
"It was a busy weekend," Faedo said. "Like everybody else, we got slammed."
A few residents told The Tri-City News they were having difficulty getting through to 911 and Faedo said that fire dispatch was also overwhelmed. In cases where the switchboard is flooded with calls, he said people are encouraged to stay on the line while calls are prioritized.
Faedo concurred with Delmonico that processes will be reviewed in the coming days and there will likely be some lessons learned for the next weather event.
"You always learn what you can do better," he said. "These happen so infrequently, you can get caught off guard. But there are always lessons to learn and you can always get a little bit better at it."
Over in Coquitlam, Fire Chief Wade Pierlot said his crews were also kept busy for most of the weekend.
Firefighters responded to more than 100 calls in a 36-hour period and things were just getting back to normal on Monday, he added.
"We had to prioritize things," Pierlot said. "We did get around to everybody."
Businesses in the area also struggled through the power outage.
The Home Depot in Port Coquitlam said sales of gas-powered generators were brisk while at Canadian Tire, staff were escorting customers to their products using flashlights.
And shops that managed to keep the lights on and stay open were particularly busy.
"It was like Christmas," said Fin O'Riordan, the general manager of IGA Marketplace on Westwood Plateau. "We were the only ones open."
