On Christmas day, the Comox Valley was far from the wintry fairytales depicted in Disney movies.

The stormy weather disrupted many cheerful dinners as it swept through the region, causing numerous power outages.

According to Ted Olynyk, a BC Hydro spokesperson, more than 7,000 customers lost electricity.

The Record reached out to the region鈥檚 fire departments to get a recap of how the event unfolded on their end.

Courtenay Fire Department Deputy fire Chief George Seigler

鈥淲e were called out six times as a result of the storm.

鈥淔ive out of those were hydro troubles like trees (and fallen) branches (on powerlines). We also had a natural gas line break on Fitzgerald caused by a tree being pushed over鈥� but no actual fire.鈥�

Seigler added that a total of 13 firefighters were dispatched throughout Dec. 25 to respond to the calls.

Comox Fire Rescue Capt. Rob Stevens

鈥淲e had lots of calls but nothing life-threatening. Over three days, from Dec. 24 through 26, (we received) about 20 calls.

鈥淚 would say that half the calls were medical and the other half were storm-related to trees falling down on power lines.

鈥淲e obviously didn鈥檛 get called for everything, but the ones that we dealt with were trees (that fell) in private driveways and took out the lines to the house. Unfortunately (in some cases, these trees) took out some parked cars.鈥�

Stevens added that a total of 35 firefighters were dispatched from Dec. 24 through 26 to respond to the calls.

Cumberland Fire Department Deputy fire Chief Stephane Dionne

鈥淲e received four calls on Christmas Day.

鈥淲e started early in the morning (of Dec. 25), with one call for a carbon monoxide (leak) that wasn鈥檛 related to the storm.

鈥淎fter that, we (removed a) 10-inch wide tree that fell across Union Road. That incident was storm-related.

鈥淲e lost power for three hours in Cumberland from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.鈥�

Dionne added that a total of 18 firefighters were dispatched throughout Dec. 25 to answer the calls.

Following this power outage, Dionne emphasized the importance of maintaining a 72-hour emergency kit at home in case of unforeseen emergencies. This kit should include essential items such as first aid supplies, batteries, toys for children and pets, and a sufficient amount of food to support your family for three days in case of an extended power outage.

Dionne added that a total of 18 firefighters were dispatched throughout Dec. 25 to respond to the calls.

Oyster River Fire Department deputy fire Chief Tommy Thomas

鈥�(We received around) 15 calls on Dec. 25鈥� and all of them were storm-related. It was mainly just branches and trees on the road (that brought) power lines down.鈥�

There were two large trees that fell - one on Coleman Road and one on Merville Road. They both had 400 metres of lines down.鈥�

Thomas added that a total of 18 firefighters were dispatched throughout Dec. 25 to respond to the calls.

鈥�-

The Record attempted to contact both the Denman and Hornby Island Fire Departments but was unable to speak with them before deadline.

RELATED: BC Hydro workers kept busy in the Comox Valley on Christmas Day due to storm

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