School closures announced after fierce windstorm wallops Chilliwack, Hope, surrounding areas

CHILLIWACK/HOPE — Five Chilliwack schools will be closed today in addition to all Fraser-Cascade school campuses in the SD78 system.

According to the SD33 website, Sardis Elementary and Cheam Elementary in Chilliwack were the first schools listed as being closed.

SD33 just added a third school closure as of 6:50 a.m. According to an email to parents, Sardis Secondary has no power and will be closed today.

“Due to last night’s severe weather conditions, Sardis Secondary is currently without power, and BC Hydro has not yet provided a timeline for restoration,” the email to parents said. “With the buildings cold and unsafe for learning, we’ve made the difficult decision to close both sites to staff and students for the day. We understand this may create challenges for families, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. The safety and comfort of our students and staff remains our top priority. Thank you for your understanding and flexibility during this unexpected situation.”

Little Mountain Elementary and East Chilliwack Elementary have since been added to the list of SD33 closures.

SD78 says it has closed all schools today (Thursday, March 12) due to “power outages and an inability to run buses.” That affects campuses in Agassiz, Hope, Harrison Hot Springs and Boston Bar.

In Harrison Hot Springs, 1,728 customers are without power as of Thursday morning.

In Hope, over 3,800 are without power.

In the District of Kent, over 4,000 customers lack power as of Thursday morning.