BC Hydro says last week’s bomb cyclone was the most destructive storm its teams have seen on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

In a post to social media, the utility said crews encountered significant damage that led to replacing hundreds of spans of wire, and dozens of poles and other electrical equipment.

Planning began ahead of the storm in anticipation of a potential extensive restoration effort.

Once the nature of the damage was known, additional crews and support were sent to Vancouver Island, while also dealing with restoration efforts in the Lower Mainland.

Eventually, more than 600 workers, including BC Hydro line crews, contractors, vegetation teams, field service administrators and others were working around the clock to restore nearly all customers by Saturday evening.