Salt Spring Island resident Kathryn Anderson found herself trapped on a road just minutes from her home as winds reached hurricane force and brought down power lines ahead of her and toppled trees behind her. Electricity-deprived Salt Spring Island residents gathered outside the local cinema in late December to warm up and watch a movie. Salt Spring Island endured some of the worst damage, so when the couple decided to start 2019 with an event thanking the hundreds of BC Hydro employees, first responders and islanders, "it just became a firestorm," Anderson said. The New Year's Day Blowdown Brunch is meant to celebrate everyone who was touched by the storm, even though many of the BC Hydro crews left Salt Spring over the weekend as power was restored, she said. (Facebook/Storm Wreath at New Year's Day Blowdown Brunch)The ceremony will be live streamed so crews who already left the island can tune in, Anderson said.

Source: CBC News December 31, 2018 21:00 UTC