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The wind that swept through the Fraser Valley and Hope, B.C., on Wednesday night was so strong that it tipped semi trucks on their sides.
The trucks were travelling on the Coquihalla Highway, before the Othello Road exit, when it is believed the first few trucks were blown on their sides.
Trucks waiting in the traffic, as the vehicles backed up, were also blown over.
Phil Truscott with Mario’s Towing told Global News that they had already righted nine semi truck trailers by Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” he said.
Truscott said some of the semis were fully loaded, while others were empty and they had to unload any items in the trailer before standing them back up.
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“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he added.
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In total, about 14 semis were believed to have tipped over.
The Coquihalla Highway was closed for many hours overnight while crews cleared the vehicles.
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Global BC meteorologist Kristi Gordon says peak wind gusts overnight reached 139 km/h in Hope.
Gordon said that it is the same as category 1 hurricane-strength winds.
Abbotsford recorded 85 km/h winds, Agassiz recorded 74 km/h winds, Victoria Gonzales recorded 106 km/h winds and the Coquihalla Summit recorded 87 km/h winds.
The Chilliwack Fire Department said crews responded to 18 calls for service overnight when multiple trees came crashing down onto homes, roads and power lines.
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One person suffered minor injuries when a tree struck a vehicle.
“It was chaos out there,” Cultus Lake resident Drew Mctaggart said.
“Branches were flying. And we’ve lived up here for six years… I don’t think I’ve ever seen wind that bad.”
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