Fraser Valley digs out from ice storm as downed power lines lead to outages, road closures

A major highway was closed in Langley thanks to downed power lines from an ice storm that hit the Fraser Valley.

The Fraser Highway was closed between 248 Avenue and 260 Avenue after power lines were brought down from thick layers of ice that have battered Langley and the Fraser Valley over the past two days.

WATCH: Heavy snow in Hope

1:21 Heavy snowfall in Hope

Highway 11 was also closed at 4th Avenue in Abbotsford from downed lines. It’s unclear when either highway will reopen.

The downed lines are just two of many projects BC Hydro crews will be working on Saturday as it tries to restore power to thousands of customers.

WATCH: Ice storm hits Abbotsford

1:47 Ice storm hits Abbotsford

Almost 29,000 customers were still without power on Saturday morning, affecting areas in Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack and Langley.

The storm dumped 50 to 60 cm of snow on parts of Hope, B.C., according to numbers from Environment Canada.

Agassiz saw 66 cm of snowfall while the Abbotsford area recorded 40 to 50 mm of frozen rain.

One Abbotsford resident is trying hard to keep warm after being without power for more than 24 hours.

“I almost feel it’s colder inside, because last night — to give you an idea — I had three blankets on our bed and I was in pajamas, a sweatshirt and my bathrobe,” Samantha Lenz said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I almost feel it's colder inside, because last night — to give you an idea — I had three blankets on our bed and I was in pajamas, a sweatshirt and my bathrobe," Samantha Lenz said.

In the meantime, she and her two-year-old son will be staying at her mom’s house in Delta.

The heavy layers of ice have brought down branches and split trunks right down the middle. BC Hydro says they have a lot of work to do still and are asking people to be patient.

“This is actually a very unique event for us, we typically don’t see a lot of ice storms,” BC Hydro spokesperson Tanya Fish said. “Crews are facing some challenging conditions out there, lots of black ice, icy roads, which is making our efforts a little bit slower than normal.”

The District of Mission is clearing up the mess left by heavy winds and precipitation.

“Crews and first responders (are) working throughout the district clearing roads — road conditions, in terms of drivability are actually quite good,” Information Officer Michael Boronowski said.

“They’re wet and slushy but not particularly icy or slippery. However, there is still a lot of tree fall and a lot of downed wires.”

The Abbotsford Police Department warns residents to be cautious as trees and branches are still falling.

Sgt. Judy Bird said the main roads seem to be clear but some side streets are still hazardous.

The combination of  power outages and icy roads led to a rollover in Abbotsford on Friday night.

Crews were called to Hill Tout Street and South Fraser Way just before 11 p.m. and discovered a vehicle that had flipped over.

No one was seriously injured but a pregnant woman was taken to hospital as a precaution.

-With files from Michelle Morton